The King and The Consort
by Sonata Rapp
Summary: Yusuke won the tournament, making him the new king of the Makai. As if that wasn't enough, he's told that he needs a consort to make himself seem more legitimate. It's lucky he has such good friends.
1. The Defeat

The Defeat

Yusuke grinned rakishly at the little demon before him. "Well ain't this ironic?" he said. "The last time I was in one of these things, it was me and Yomi facing off. I lost that one, but this one's going a bit differently."

Shura, his opponent, glared as he panted. "I am better than my father!"

In the stands, Kurama slid his eyes towards Yomi who was sitting nearby. The blind former king shook his head at his son's ambition.

Hiei leaned into the kitsune's side. "How does this one end?" he wanted to know.

"Shura is wounded and winded, and Yusuke's second wind is in it's prime. If he does what he needs to in this fight, he can certainly win," Kurama replied without taking his eyes away from the ring.

"Hn. I thought he didn't want to be king."

Kurama blinked. "I don't know what's changed."

The fight continued. Yusuke punched, and Shura dodged. Barely. The clone kicked out for the former detective's head. The foot is caught and the boy thrown down.

"Give up," Yusuke murmured.

"No! I will be king!"

The half demon shook his head. He raised his finger in the customary way, and something tightened low in Kurama to see such a familiar sight.

The cry of "Spirit Gun!" rang out, and a wash of blue holy power enveloped the arena.

"He's won," Hiei said.

"Yes," the kitsune replied breathlessly. "All hail King Yusuke."

Red eyes slanted suspiciously toward the other demon. "Indeed."

"He's done it!" Koto screamed into the microphone. "Yusuke Urameshi, the former scourge of this world has won the third Makai Unification Tournament. Hail King Yusuke!"

There was a fairly negative outcry from the stands, and Yusuke growled. "Yeah, one of you wanna come down here and make something of it? Plenty of power left in this puppy." He brandished his finger at the spectators. He caught sight of Kurama's flame of hair and winked up at him.

The matter was settled.

* * *

A/N: So let me explain what's going on here. I have two other stories in this fandom going already, so I figured: why not add a third? This one will be a bit more manageable in the way that the chapters will never be longer than 500 words. It'll be great.


	2. The Last

The Last

Keiko hadn't taken the news well.

She had thrown the silver ring Yusuke had given her at his head and called him all manner of bad names.

On his last night among humanity, Yusuke found himself outside of Kurama's apartment. It seemed right that he should have chosen to end his time in this world with the most liminal resident of it.

"Oi, Red!" he called up to the open window.

Kurama poked his head out. "Hello, Yusuke. I was hoping you would stop by before you left. Do come up."

Yusuke obliged and he soon found himself standing in the kitsune's living room. He inhaled and picked up on the scent of frustration. "Everything okay, Kurama?"

Green eyes rolled. "I am. Hiei was here earlier and…well let's just say we had a misunderstanding."

"A bad one?"

Kurama shrugged. "Bad enough. But we are not going to spend your last night here talking about my problems with Hiei. How are you holding up?"

Now it was Yusuke's time to shrug. "Okay, I guess. Keiko hates me, and my mom doesn't care that she might never see me again."

"What did you tell her?"

"My mom? Just that I was going away for a while. She told me to bring back some whiskey for her."

Kurama knew that his friend wanted no pity, so he changed the subject. "May I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"Why did you allow yourself to progress so far in the tournament? I thought it was your intention to avoid being king."

Yusuke sighed. "It was. I…I was just going no where here, you know? Kuwabara's off in med school; you've got a job and Hiei. What's left for me?"

"You could have had a wife and a job had you wanted them," the kitsune reminded him.

"I know. And I thought that _was_ what I wanted, but none of that felt like it was right for me. As scared fucking shitless as I am of this king gig, I think I can be good at it."

"I actually agree with you. You are exactly what the Makai needs to turn it around."

Yusuke gave his friend a sheepish look. "Hey, Kurama? Will you…will you come visit me sometimes? I know I'm going to have Hokushin to help me with this, but I can't think of anyone better than you to advise me."

"Of course, Yusuke," Kurama replied. "I'm honored that you would ask. Of course I will also be there as your friend whenever you want me to."

"Thanks," Yusuke did something that he never thought he would, and walked closer to the redhead with his arms out. Before either of them could blink, Kurama was enveloped in a hug. "I'm going to miss you," the half demon whispered.

"And I you," was the murmured reply. Kurama was glad that his friend couldn't see him blinking away tears.


	3. The Leaving

The Leaving

The day that Yusuke left the human world was a dreary one. There was rain and wind and rolls of thunder. Koenma looked up at the sky and mused that it was almost as if the world was mourning the departure of its savior.

The prince of Reikai turned at Yusuke's impatient huff and smiled. "These next three years will be the easiest for all three worlds," he remarked. "You should try to win the next few tournaments as well."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Figures you're concerned about how this affects you, pacifier breath. Can you just open the damned portal already?"

"Yes, of course." Koenma pulled what appeared to be a laser pointer out of his robes and flicked it on. Holy energy flared out of it, and the prince drew a circle in the air. A rift formed, and Yusuke could feel the Makai beyond it.

He turned to look at Koenma. "Well I guess this is it."

"Good luck, Yusuke."

"Yeah, thanks." With one last look at the world he was leaving behind, Yusuke stepped into the portal.

When he came out on the other side, Hokushin was waiting for him. The bald demon smiled and bowed to his king. "Welcome back, Lord Yusuke. Shall we progress to your new home?"

Yusuke took a deep breath of the electrically charged air and let it settle his nerves. "Yeah," he replied. "Let's go."

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for the outpouring of support for this story, guys. It was one of those things that got sparked by writing a sentence for _Small Hours_, and it wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. Since the chapters are sooo short, I'm going to try to make this story update every day. We'll see how that goes.


	4. The Damage

The Damage

"For the last time, Hiei, nothing happened!"

"My ass it didn't. You smell like him. Your whole fucking apartment smells like him!"

"He was leaving for what could possibly be forever. Would you begrudge me my chance to say good bye to one of my closest friends?"

"And he had to be all over you to say goodbye?"

"We hugged, Hiei. Just because you detest idle touches does not mean everyone else does."

"Stop trying to talk your way out of this!"

"I don't even know what you are accusing me of."

"You like him."

"Oh very good, Hiei. I'm sure that took expert deduction."

"Shut up! You know what I mean. You like him as more than a friend. I've seen the way you look at him since he got his demon blood flowing."

"You've seen nothing because you are never here. How dare you show up for your once a month visit, _late _I might add, and accuse me of being unfaithful to you? No one else would put up with the crap that comes along with being with you."

"What?"

"You heard me. All I do is sit around and wait for you to be done doing whatever it is you do with Mukuro, and I can't go have fun with anyone else because you don't trust me."

"Like I don't have good reason for that."

"When I have I _ever _given you cause not to trust me? I haven't so much as looked at anyone else since we got together."

"Except for Yusuke."

"Jealousy is very unattractive on you, Hiei."

"Being a whore seems to suit you just fine."

"...get out."

"What?"

"Get. Out."

"Fox-"

"No! I am tired of being treated like this. I am tired of being here when you need me _all the time_ and getting absolutely nothing back in return. But most of all, Hiei? I'm tired of you."

* * *

A/N: This chapter was painful to write because of how easily it came out. Hiei and Kurama shouldn't work. If that cocky redhead weren't so infinitely patient with the little moron then they wouldn't have even gotten to first base. I still love them though. I figured that I have enough sap involving the two of them in my stories, and like that one song says, "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."


	5. The Crowning

The Crowning

Yusuke fidgeted as he sat on the hard wooden throne. If he had known that demons went in for all the pomp of a coronation, he might have thought twice about taking the gig. Hokushin and Enki, the two time former king, were intoning some ceremony that the half demon was not paying attention to.

He allowed his chocolate brown eyes to roam the crowd and got a thrill when he saw the familiar fall of scarlet hair that meant Kurama was present. He gave his friend a once over, frowning at the shadowed look in the usually bright green eyes. That sparked him to look for Hiei. The jaganshi was there, but he was on the opposite side of the crowd, standing with Mukuro. Yusuke made a mental note to figure out what was going on with them later.

He zoned back in just in time to hear Enki ask him if he accepted the responsibilities of his title.

"Um…yeah. I mean, yes. I do."

"Then rise, Yusuke, son of Raizen, and be crowned king."

The mazoku obeyed and held his breath as Enki placed a crown wrought of special Makai metals on his head.

"All hail, King Yusuke!" Enki called out.

The crowd echoed the cry. "All hail, King Yusuke!"

The king swallowed. "Um…yay me?"

The processional towards the fortress where Yusuke would be ruling from was a loud affair. Demons went along after their new king and his adviser calling out bets on how long this one would last.

Kurama had snuck through the ranks of demons and ended up beside Yusuke. "Excited to begin your reign?" he whispered in the king's ear.

"Fucking terrified," Yusuke replied. "But it's gonna be great, right?"

"It will be. You are perfect for this job, Yusuke."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"What's going on with you and Hiei?"

"Nothing," Kurama responded automatically.

"Kurama, I know I ain't as smart as you, but I know that something is up with you two."

The kitsune sighed. "There is nothing going on between us, Yusuke, because we are no more."

"What? When did that happen?"

"The day you left. I just couldn't take it any more."

"Take what?"

Kurama shook his head. "We can discuss this later." They had arrived at the fortress and it was time to go inside.

Yusuke turned and fixed the kitsune with a look. "We're going to have a talk soon, you and I."

"Certainly. I've told my mother that I'm going to study abroad this semester so that I can be here for the first few months of your reign."

"Awesome. I'll see you later then."

Kurama smiled softly. "Yes. You will."

* * *

Eeeek! Sorry this is so late. Technically, it's still today though, so I'm updating every day.

A few notes

1. I'm glad people are enjoying this. I was afraid that I was bombarding this fandom with too much of the stories that popped into my head, but it seems like you all like it.

2. I've been getting a few complaints about the chapter lengths. I will say that I said from the beginning that these were going to be short, and they're short for a reason. I want to show little snapshots of this whole deal. Also this way you get a chapter a day in addition to chapters of my other stories once a week, so I don't feel too bad about the short chapters.

3. For those who also read _Sparks Fly, _expect a new chapter of that on Friday.


	6. The First

The First

Yusuke settled into his bed with a grateful sigh. Being king of a vastly uncivilized race was no less formal than being a human king, the half demon had discovered. He'd spent the entire evening making nice with the very demons who had tried to take his head off in years past.

A particularly memorable moment occurred when Yomi had approached him at the banquet. Yusuke had laid a firm "no human eating" stipulation in his presence, stating that he didn't care what their dietary habits were when they were in his home. Yomi, being a notorious human eater, had come over to the king, holding a piece of pork. There was a stare down, (well, Yusuke stared at Yomi) and then the elder demon bowed.

"I am interested to see how long you can retain your ideals down here among us, my lord," he said smoothly.

"To be honest, so am I," Yusuke replied. "Kurama'll be around to keep me in check though."

Yomi smirked. "Will he? How fortuitous."

Yusuke didn't know what he meant by that, but he didn't have time to dwell on it since Chu and Rinku were making their way over to greet him.

Now, lying in his bed alone, the king thought about Kurama. He wondered what had happened between him and Hiei. He puzzled over the feeling he had been getting when he saw the redhead these days. It was as if there was something in his blood that was calling to the demon.

Since Kurama had always been with Hiei before, he had squelched the feeling down, but now…

It sufficed to say that he had some questions to ask.

* * *

A few notes:

1. The chapters aren't getting longer than 500 words. They just aren't. I have two other stories going and the chapters for _Sparks Fly _are long enough.

2. A lot of people want to get to the whole Yusuke doing kingly stuff part. I promise that is coming soon. The consort stuff will be dealt with first, and then our favorite three-eyed pseudo-sociopath will pop back up along with some official king business.

3. Thanks for all the support!


	7. The Stipulation

The Stipulation

"I have to WHAT?"

"Please calm down, my lord," Hokushin pleaded.

"Fuck that! When were you going to tell me I have to take a queen?"

"A consort, my lord. The gender of which is not important."

Yusuke scowled. "_Why_ do I have to do this?"

"It was set in place before Enki, my lord. Having a consort makes it easier for you to seem proper at formal gatherings of the Makai nobility. It is tradition, my lord."

"Can't I just outlaw it or something?" Yusuke wanted to know.

Hokushin hesitated. "…You can…but there will no doubt be an uprising from the nobles as a result."

"Well fuck."

"Er…do you not have a…a girlfriend in Ningenkai?"

Yusuke sighed. "Not anymore." He placed his head in his hands. "Why is this so damned difficult? I thought being king meant that I had to keep demons from killing each other and humans, and then catch up on my sleep."

Hokushin laughed. "You have much to learn about demons, my lord. The higher caliber of us are very steeped in our traditions."

Another sigh. "So…what are the rules about this consort business?"

"Basically you need a companion. Someone who will act as your escort for events and speak to the people when you cannot."

"So they'd be like my second in command who I can have sex with?"

"Something like that. A consort is also useful for when your heat cycle begins. Is there anyone who you would like to appoint to this position?"

"I don't know anyone here well enough for that."

"Then allow me to offer this advice, my lord. No one outside of you and your consort need know what exactly goes on between the two of you. You could find a friend that would be willing to act as your mouthpiece and escort, and your duty would be fulfilled."

That was a good idea. "I don't know who would do that, but I can ask around."

Hokushin nodded. "Very good, my lord."


	8. The Visit

The Visit

Kurama smiled as he looked around the king's bedroom. It was sparse, but it had personality. Yusuke had brought some of his effects with him, and that made it feel less…daunting.

Yusuke had been king for two weeks now, and Kurama had finally come to the Makai to stay for a while.

"How are things, Yusuke?" the kitsune wanted to know.

"Pretty good. Nothing too crazy has happened so far."

"That is good. Yomi sends his regards by the way, and he wants to invite you to Gandara for dinner sometime."

"Me and my consort?" Yusuke asked bluntly.

Kurama blinked. "Well, yes. That is how these things usually go. Have you chosen someone?"

"No. Hokushin just dropped that one in my lap last week."

"Ah. I should have explained the practice to you, I suppose, seeing as I have been in the position before."

Yusuke frowned. "You've been a consort?"

"Yes. To Yom when we were all here dealing with the unification seven years ago."

"Huh," was all Yusuke could say. He didn't like that idea. "I don't really know what to do about it. Can we change the subject?"

"Certainly. Did you have one in mind?"

"What the hell happened between you and Hiei?"

Kurama sighed. "I just couldn't handle it anymore, Yusuke. He treated me like…" he trailed off. "He called me a whore."

It hurt Yusuke to hear the deep sadness in his friend's voice. "Why would he do that?"

"Well I _was_ a whore in my younger years, but that is beside the point. Essentially, Hiei's jealousy became stifling so I ended it."

"Wow. You two seemed like you'd be together for ever."

The kitsune snorted. "Nothing with Hiei is forever." He looked away. "May _I _request a subject change?"

"Sure. Where do you plan to stay while you're here?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Yomi offered me a place in Gandara, but I hadn't decided whether to accept or not."

"Stay here," the king replied. "I have too much space as it is, and I would like you to be close to me."

Kurama smiled. "Familiarity is comforting."

"Yeah. Also I just want you here."

"Then I would be glad to oblige."

* * *

A/N: Ahem. So apparently when I said this would update everyday I meant every weekday. Mostly I forgot to update over the weekend. I have a five chapter buffer on this right now, so I think I just assumed I updated when I didn't. Long story short, sorry about that.


	9. The Offer

The Offer

Yusuke wanted Kurama to grieve. He wanted him to deal with whatever his feelings for Hiei were, and move on. Clipped, sad Kurama made him uncomfortable.

To be honest, Yusuke wanted something from the redhead. He wanted to ask Kurama for a rather large favor that would make his life easier.

He watched the kitsune eat dinner at the too large table in the dining room, and tried to think of some way to broach the topic with him.

It helped that the fox was so damned perceptive. Kurama slid emerald eyes over to Yusuke and smiled. "You want to ask me something," he said.

"I do."

"You're worried about my response."

"Pretty much."

The smile grew. "Ask."

Yusuke grimaced. "Well Hokushin said I should ask a friend of mine to…um…"

"To be your consort?" Kurama suggested, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Um. Yeah."

"And you want to ask me to do it?" A scarlet eyebrow arched.

Yusuke swallowed. "Please?"

Kurama's eyes hardened. "No."


	10. The Reason

The Reason

"Why not?"

"What makes you think I want to jump from one degrading relationship into another?"

"How am I degrading you?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"You are asking me to in essence belong to you, Yusuke. And for what? Because you're my friend and you need a favor? I don't want that."

"Well then what _do_ you want?" Yusuke asked softly.

"I don't know, Yusuke. More than this at least. More than being used. I did it for Yomi because he threatened my family, that's it."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Kurama. I just thought-"

"I know. And I'm sorry that I was so harsh in my refusal, but I need true affection in any relationship I'm in."

"I do have affection for you," Yusuke protested weakly.

Kurama smiled. "I know that too, and you have no idea how much I wish it were the right kind of affection." He got up and headed out of the dining room.

A serving woman came out of the kitchen then to gather the dishes. She hesitated near the table, clearly wanting to say something.

The king sighed. "Spit it out, Chiyuka."

She bowed. "Forgive me, my lord king. But I think that you went about that all wrong."

"How would you have done it then?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Yoko Kurama wants your affection, my lord, and I rather think you want his too. Perhaps you should go for a regular relationship, or at least let him know how you feel, before trying to get him to give his freedom to you."

He had to admit that that was a good idea, but did he want a relationship with the fox, or was he being opportunistic? Yusuke couldn't deny his attraction to the other male, but he wasn't sure how (or even if he wanted) to act on it.

_Damnit, _he thought. _Being king was not supposed to be this complicated._


	11. The Promise

The Promise

Kurama lay awake in his bed fuming. His melancholy had passed, and now he was angry. Not at Yusuke, per se, but at the situation. A part of him wanted to agree to Yusuke's proposal, but that was the part of him that had allowed Hiei to treat him so badly. He sighed. The ball was in Yusuke's court now, and that was how it had to be.

The kitsune had just drifted off to sleep when his door slid open slowly. The slight sound woke Kurama, and he extended his senses to see how alert he needed to be. To his surprise, the visitor was Yusuke.

"You asleep, Kurama?" the king queried.

"Not yet. What can I do for you?"

It was things like this that made Yusuke like Kurama so much. He had just been pretty upset, and now here the kitsune was asking what he could do. Yusuke took a deep breath. "I want to say something to you."

Green eyes opened, and Kurama peered at Yusuke curiously. "Yes?"

"I…I'm sorry that Hiei treated you like shit. I know that it's gonna be hard for you to trust because of that, but I need you to trust me now."

"Okay," Kurama said slowly. "I trust you."

Yusuke grinned. "Good." He walked forward and bent over the prone kitsune. He was nervous, but he wanted to do this. Slowly, carefully, his lips descended to the surprised redhead's.

Kurama gasped as their mouths touched. A spark of something jumped between them, and suddenly they were devouring each other.

Somehow Yusuke ended up in bed with Kurama's hands roaming under his sleeping shirt. They took occasional breaks for air, but they never stopped touching.

"I will never take you for granted," Yusuke whispered at some point. "Never."

Kurama smiled, reaching up to brush Yusuke's bangs out of his brown eyes. "Is that a promise?"

"Yes."

"Hiei used to say that promises are just targets for the knives that will inevitably be lodged into your back."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Hiei's a dick."

"Sometimes. He is right at times though. Promises are often useless because of unforeseen circumstances."

The king thought for a moment, then amended his statement. "I will try as hard as I can to never take you for granted. Is that better?"

"Astronomically." Kurama leaned forward and kissed him again.


	12. The Aftermath

The Aftermath

Yusuke awoke that next morning in confusion. He wasn't in this bedroom, and there was something red in his field of vision. That triggered his memory of the night before. A smile curved across his face, and he tightened his arms around the slender body in bed with him.

He was just contemplating drifting back to sleep when there was a knock on the door. "What?" he groaned.

"Um. I'm sorry to uh disturb you, my lord, but you weren't in your room, and Mukuro and her heir are here to discuss border politics with you," Hokushin responded.

"Fucking great," Yusuke muttered. "I'll be there soon," he called back.

Kurama had awoken and heard the exchange. He frowned. "Mukuro and Hiei. Lovely."

"I didn't think Mukuro made visits like this," Yusuke said.

"She does when she has to. She cannot leave something this important up to Hiei's shoddy negotiating skills."

"That makes sense." Yusuke stretched and got out of the bed. "So...we're okay?"

Kurama smiled. "We are. I do not know how long I have admired you, Yusuke, with no idea if it would reciprocated. I cannot say how pleased I am that it is."

Yusuke smiled back. "Good. And just so you know, I didn't start this just so you'd agree to be my consort. I kissed you because I wanted to, and you don't have to agree to the consort thing if you don't want to."

"It means a lot that you would say that, but now, my lord king, you are stuck with me as your consort because I'll allow no one else to touch you."

"I'm okay with that." The king kissed the redhead. "I'm going to go get dressed and go see what our visitors from Alaric have to say. You don't have to come if you don't want to see Hiei yet."

Kurama pulled the other male closer and rested his forehead against his. "I'll go with you. Hiei and I cannot avoid each other forever, and I will not let him make me shirk my duties to you."

"You're so responsible."

"It's a gift. Now go get dressed. Keeping Mukuro waiting is never a good idea."


	13. The Business

The Business

Mukuro watched her heir pace in the room they were in while waiting for Yusuke. The fire demon was tense. He could feel Kurama here in Yusuke's fortress, and he wondered what the fox had told their friend about him.

"Stop pacing," Mukuro snapped finally. "You're making me nervous."

"You don't get nervous," Hiei quipped back.

"Fine. Annoyed then."

Luckily Hokushin arrived then. He bowed to Mukuro and Hiei. "The king will see you now," he said.

"About time," Mukuro muttered. They followed the bald demon to the throne room. Yusuke sat on the hard wooden throne looking bored, while Kurama stood behind him.

The king caught Hiei's eye and smirked. He was about to be petty, but it was going to be so worth it. "Sit down, Kurama," he suggested.

The redhead smiled and bowed. "Of course, my lord king." Kurama walked around to the smaller throne that was next to Yusuke's. The consort's throne. He sat down on it, arranging his silk tunic around him.

Hiei froze. He knew it meant that Kurama was sitting there.

Mukuro did too, she sighed, knowing that this was not going to end well "Good morning, King Yusuke," she said. "I am sorry that it took so long for me to come and see you."

"Don't worry about it, Mukuro. The less I have to do the better. Now you wanted to talk about border stuff?"

"I did. As you know, Hiei here is the captain of the demons I have on the border. Ever since Enki's first reign, they have been making sure that humans do not get lost over here and that demons to not cross over to Ningenkai and wreak havoc."

"It is appreciated. Of course I want this to continue," Yusuke said.

"As do we all. At the moment, I am the only demon noble who is sending soldiers out to patrol. I think that it would be a much more effective process if the others would as well. Then there could be shifts and a more organized method of patrolling."

"Have you talked to Yomi or anyone about it?"

Mukuro rolled her eyes. "I did. Yomi told me that unless he was ordered to, he didn't care what happened on the border."

Yusuke sighed. "I'll talk to him, I guess." He looked over at Kurama. "Can you send something to Yomi accepting his dinner invitation?"

"Of course, my lord," the kitsune replied.

Mukuro opened her mouth again, but was cut off by the sound of the throne room door slamming behind Hiei as he stalked out.

* * *

A/N: Aw snap! Hiei's pissed. I know that these last few chapters have all been revolving around the same event, but it's a pretty important one. I'm excited to write the chapter where Yusuke and Yomi have dinner with consort!Kurama standing by. It'll be exciting, but first we have to deal with the stick up Hiei's ass.


	14. The Blowup

The Blowup

"I see you've appointed a consort," Mukuro remarked.

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah. Hokushin said it was necessary."

"He was right. Someone like Yomi would take great pleasure in trying to seduce you if you didn't have a consort. It seems that my heir is not pleased with the choice."

"Yeah, well it sucks to be him."

"Indeed." Mukuro looked at Kurama. "Perhaps you should speak with him."

The kitsune looked at the king who nodded. "If you want to."

Kurama stood up and bowed. "I'll return shortly, my lord." He walked across the floor, adding an extra sway to his hips just for Yusuke's benefit, and exited the room.

It wasn't hard to find Hiei, following the sounds of screaming and the plumes of smoke led the fox right to the sulking demon. He was sitting in Kurama's bedroom amid the smoking wreckage of what had once been a bed. Kurama shooed the servants away and leaned against the door frame.

"Well this is a childish display," he commented.

"Shut up. How could you do this?"

"How could I do what? How could I come here and find someone who will actually appreciate me?"

"_Him?" _

"Why not him? Didn't you accuse me of liking him in the first place? Wasn't that why we were fighting?" Kurama wanted to know.

"I didn't think-"

"Yes I know. You never do." Kurama sighed. "Let's cut to the chase, Hiei. I am with Yusuke now. I will serve as his consort and live here."

"So you've given yourself to the king now. Opportunistic whore, aren't you?" Hiei snarled.

Green eyes went as cold and hard as diamond. "Hiei, you are a child." He turned to walk away. "If you want to talk about this like rational beings, you'll know where to find me."

"Yeah, in Yusuke's bed," the jaganshi muttered.

"More than likely. Especially since you've ruined mine."


	15. The Difference

The Difference

A week passed and Yusuke was relieved to see that Kurama wasn't moping around about Hiei. Instead, the kitsune threw himself into his duties as consort: sending out invitations, accepting them, and moving into Yusuke's rooms.

The king was not really excited about the upcoming dinner with Yomi, mostly because (and he would never admit this out loud) he was afraid of the smarmy git. Kurama picked up on this, being the perceptive bastard that he was, and waited until they were in bed together to bring it up.

His arms were wrapped around the other man and he pressed his lips to the Yusuke's bare shoulder. "Does it bother you?" He asked.

Yusuke yawned. "What?"

"That I used to be Yomi's consort and we're going to have dinner with his this week."

"Ugh. I'm not bothered exactly. I just don't want to think about it."

Kurama chuckled. "Fair enough. You acquired me using different means though, and I am fairly certain that you didn't offer this position to me just in order to get me below you."

The king snickered. "I'm excited for you to be below me."

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Ah, how kingly you are, Yusuke. But you know what I mean. Yomi took a perverse pleasure in practically owning me after what I did to him."

"Demons are vindictive bastards," Yusuke remarked.

"We are," Kurama agreed. "Most of that is instinctual."

"Speaking of, is Hiei going to come murder me?"

The kitsune sighed. "No, I think he's more upset with me than he is with you. I believe he sees my position here as a personal betrayal."

"Hiei," Yusuke sighed in exasperation.

"Indeed."

"So did Yomi replace you and get a new consort?"

"He did, and I suppose I should warn you about him. Yomi has developed a flair for excess, one might say, in these last few years. I refused certain indignities when I was his consort, but Yomi has since adopted a more authoritative manner with this new one.:

"Can I get that again? In regular people words this time?"

"Suffice it to say that this dinner will be strange."


	16. The Preparations

The Preparations

Yusuke frowned at his reflection as Kurama fussed with his attire. His redheaded consort was already dressed in an exquisite silk tunic in a bright silver with black pants and a black robe over all that. He looked deliciously somber, and Yusuke was having a hard time not staring at him. Kurama had explained that as a consort he was supposed to remain in the background, so he had downplayed the colors to make up for his already bright hair and eyes.

The king had left all the wardrobe decisions up to Kurama which he regretted when he saw the silk confection his consort wanted him to wear.

"Did you steal this stuff?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama grinned and adjusted the black tunic and red robe on the king. "I did not. It would reflect poorly on you if you arrived in Gandara wearing stolen goods. I just have an excellent tailor."

"I hate fancy shit like this," Yusuke groused as he shoved his feet into the black slippers Kurama had picked out.

"I know. But this is a part of the role you worked so hard to win."

"I suppose you'll be calling me 'my lord' the whole time we're there?"

Kurama nodded. "It's only proper. Yomi has to believe that you are serious about your role as king. You have the most political power in this world, Yusuke. You have to push that advantage and be mean if you have to."

"But I _like_ Yomi." Scared of him, but he liked him.

"You like the Yomi you fought with," Kurama corrected, running a brush through Yusuke's hair that had begun to grow out towards his shoulders, "Yomi the noble is a very different demon."

There was a knock on the door then, and Kurama opened it to admit Hokushin. He bowed to his king, pleased with how well Kurama had done in dressing him. "We should leave now, my lord," he said.

"Yeah, okay. How are we getting there anyway?"

Hokushin and Kurama exchanged glances. "We'll be running, my lord," the bald demon said hesitantly.

"In these clothes?"

"We, your attendants, will be running. You and Kurama will be in the litter we shall carry."

The king groaned. "I really don't want it to be this way, guys."

Kurama took his arm and led him from the bedroom. "It won't be like this all the time, Yusuke. But with Yomi, you need to see more like a human king. That is the way to get his attention. He already respects you as a fighter, now you have to make him see you as a competent ruler."

"Once you have his respect, you can do things your way with him," Hokushin added.

"Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with," Yusuke said with a sigh.


	17. The Dinner

The Dinner

Kurama fought to keep the grin off of his face as he watched Yusuke walk into Yomi's dining room. The king was trying to make a regal face, but was just succeeding in looking constipated.

The kitsune was walking the regulation three paces behind Yusuke, but he knew that some things superseded propriety. He got closer and took the half demon's hand in his. "Calm down," he whispered. "Be confident and be yourself."

Yusuke nodded, adopting his usual cocky smirk. "Better?"

"Much."

"Sharing secrets?" Yomi's voice rang out. He bowed. "Welcome to Gandara, lord king."

"Thanks for having me," Yusuke replied.

"Of course. Kurama, you _do_ play your cards well. Aligning yourself with the current king is an excellent political move. Not that I expected anything less."

Kurama rolled his eyes. "I was aligned with King Yusuke before he was a king."

"Enough of this talk. Let us have dinner," Yomi said jovially. He gestured for his guests to be seated. "I have adopted your ways for the night, lord king. There will be no humans served at this meal."

"Nice to see I've rubbed off on you, Yomi," Yusuke responded. "I want to discuss something with you."

"Really? Well let us wait for the food. Business matters are much better discussed over good food. Ah, here we are."

A line of serving people brought out plates of food then. There was a large roast ham, potatoes, fish, various sauces, salad, wine, sake, and bread. They placed the trays down on the table and bowed as one. Once they had gone, Yomi indicated that they should begin eating.

Kurama used his senses to make sure that there were no poisons or sedatives in the food, then nodded to Yusuke that it was alright to eat.

Once they were halfway through the meal, Yusuke spoke again. "Yomi, I wanted to talk to you about the border."

"The border? I thought that was Mukuro's territory."

"Historically it has been, but I don't think that was ever purposeful. She could really use some help out there."

"You want to recruit new men?"

Yusuke scowled. "No. I want you to send some of yours to the border to help her."

"Hm. I'm not sure I want to that," Yomi said.

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I care. Making sure the humans stay out of this world and that we stay out of theirs is a team effort. _You _are part of that team."

"With all due respect, my lord king, I am not terribly interested in border politics."

"Let me tell you how this will go, Yomi. You're going to send twenty of your people to the border and have them report to Mukuro and Hiei. If they need more, you're going to give them more. The three major territories _will_ be united in this this."

Kurama ducked his head and smiled. He still loved to see Yomi brought low.


	18. The Replacement

The Replacement

Yomi regarded his king carefully. "Very well," he said finally. "Twenty of my people."

"Twenty of you _best _people," Yusuke added.

"Of course." The blind demon leaned down and picked up a small bell. He rang it and waited with an expectant expression.

A moment later a tall graceful male demon came walking into the dining room. He wasn't wearing anything other than a very short skirt type thing over his lower bits. His long blue hair was left to fall around him and silver eyes were carefully blank. "You rang, Lord Yomi?" the demon asked wearily.

"Yes, Hotaru, I did," Yomi replied. "Kurama, I'm sure you remember Hotaru from the old days."

Kurama didn't answer, but it was clear from his clenched hands that he did remember whoever this was.

"King Yusuke," the blind demon continued. "May I present _my _consort, Hotaru. Hotaru, bow to the king."

The blue haired demon obeyed. "A pleasure to meet you, lord king."

Yusuke blinked. "Um. Yeah. You too."

"Hotaru, I need you to go down to Shura and tell him to assemble twenty of our best people and have them sent to the border."

Hotaru was confused. "To the border, my lord?"

"Yes. King Yusuke has decreed that the patrol should be a _team effort._"

Silver eyes lit on Yusuke's face, and the young half demon fidgeted. There was something ancient in those eyes, and he likened it to what lurked behind Kurama's eyes when he wasn't pretending to be human.

Apparently Hotaru liked what he saw, for a smile brightened his face as he bowed to Yomi. "It shall be done, my lord." He bowed to Yusuke again and then left the way he came.

Kurama had been noticeably silent during the exchange, and Yusuke trained brown eyes on him. "Kurama?"

"May I speak, my lord king?" the kitsune asked coolly.

"Go ahead."

Green eyes snapped to Yomi. "How did you manage to get Hotaru under your thumb? Did you threaten Leila?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Kurama. Hotaru volunteered for this honor."

Kurama snorted. "No one volunteers to be your consort, Yomi. I know that from experience."

"Now, Kurama, you're being impolite to your host," Yomi chided, amusement coloring his smooth voice.

The redhead opened his mouth to quip back, but thought better of it. He was not Hiei, losing his temper at inopportune moments and ruining negotiations. He knew better than that. Besides, it wasn't like Yomi's home was thief proof.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Gah, what's this? An original character? Blasphemy! Don't worry, Hotaru poses no threat to any of our boys.

2. All of this will be explained.


	19. The Explanation

The Explanation

The rest of the dinner was a fairly tense affair, with Yomi asking Yusuke questions about his plans for the next three years and Yusuke evading them. Finally, the king said it was time for them to return to their fortress. Yomi stood and showed them out with a bow.

Hokushin and the rest of the monk like demons stood at attention as Yusuke and Kurama came out to the litter. The general smiled. "How did it go?"

"Alright I guess. Mukuro's getting twenty of Yomi's people for the border, and we're going to send twenty of ours. Something about Yomi's consort has got Kurama all riled up though."

"I would prefer to wait until we are farther from here to discuss it, if you do not mind," the redhead remarked.

"That's fine." Yusuke eyed the litter with distaste, but didn't complain.

A smile broke through Kurama's stony mask. Yusuke was learning.

The two of them climbed into the litter and got comfortable. Yusuke could see that his consort was still very displeased, so he reached over and took his hand. "You okay?"

Kurama let his breath out with a sigh. "I was not expecting that, and you know how I hate being caught off guard."

Yusuke nodded. "I thought you knew Yomi had a new consort."

"He had a different one the last time I was there. Or he was hiding Hotaru."

"Who _is_ this guy? You seem to know him."

"I do. Hotaru was one of my bandits decades ago. He was a skilled thief, but he didn't like the work. Soon after Kuronue died, he told me that he and another of the group were in love and wanted to leave. I let them."

"Leila?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes. She's a kitsune much like myself. The only female in the group and faster than almost all the others."

"So you think that Yomi is threatening her to get Hotaru to be his consort."

Kurama sighed again. "That is my first thought, yes. Hotaru and Yomi were never great friends, so I cannot see any other reason for it. He would not have just agreed to this."

Yusuke grinned. "So what you're saying is that we have to investigate."

"_I _have to investigate. You have a world to run," Kurama said.

"Oh come on! Do you think I'm going to just let you have all the fun here? I am so in."

The kitsune smiled in spite of himself. "Very well."


	20. The Meantime

The Meantime

Mukuro speared her heir with a look. "Are you going to tell me what happened back there, or am I going to have to pry it out of you?"

"Why don't _you_ have a consort?" Hiei demanded suddenly.

The lady raised an eyebrow. "I've never wanted one. It's not a mandatory thing, Hiei, but it is useful to deter unwanted attention. I had the advantage of looking as I do to do that for me."

"You look fine," the fire demon replied distractedly.

Mukuro paused. "Thank you, Hiei. Now, back to the matter at hand. What is going on between you and Kurama?"

Hiei sighed. "He's pissed at me."

"That much was obvious as he is with Yusuke and not you. What did you do?"

"Who said this my fault?" the jaganshi protested.

"Was it?"

That deflated Hiei's indignation. "Yes. I called him a whore and accused him of wanting Yusuke. But I was right."

"About which part?"

"The latter," Hiei snapped. "If he had no feelings for the idiot then he would not be his consort now."

Mukuro had to agree with that. "Alright, let's say that Kurama did have feelings for our new king. Did he ever give you cause to be mistrustful of him?"

"You mean besides being an infamous lecher?"

"Tsk. I am not speaking of the past, Hiei. In all the time that you have known Kurama as he is now, has he ever given you a reason not to trust him?" She raised a hand as Hiei opened his mouth. "I'm talking about something more serious than the time he 'betrayed' you to save Yusuke."

Hiei folded his arms. "He wanted to."

"Then we should be applauding his self control. Kitsune love power as much as any other demon, and Yusuke has it in spades. Yet he stayed with you until you were so rude to him. Funny that."


	21. The Continuation

The Continuation

"The point is that he wanted to," Hiei insisted.

Mukuro sighed, tired of this argument already. "You wanted to kill Yusuke. Hell, you wanted to die yourself. Are those the same thing?"

"But I didn't kill him or die."

"You _did _die, Hiei. I just intervened to reverse the process. In fact, someone intervened in both of those occasions. Had they not you would have continued as planned. No one intervened to stop Kurama from pursuing Yusuke, and yet he still didn't until he broke up with you."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Hiei responded.

"It wasn't supposed to. What you need to do is talk to him in a rational manner, and perhaps not burn his bed this time."

"How did you know about that?"

Mukuro smirked. "You are nothing if not predictable, Hiei."


	22. The Selection

The Selection

Yusuke blinked at the demons assembled before him. They all looked similar to Hokushin: bald and robed.

"What was it with Raizen and monks?" the king muttered to Kurama who was on his right.

The consort smiled. "I couldn't say. They are unerringly loyal, to be sure."

"Let's hope that stays true." Yusuke turned to address the group. "Uh, okay guys, here's the deal. Mukuro needs more people on the border, and I went and bullied Yomi into sending twenty of his own down there. I'd be a big ass hypocrite if I didn't do the same. I figure I'll let you volunteer for the job before I assign people. So, any takers?"

Ten of the monk-like demons raised their hands, and Yusuke rewarded them with a grin. "Awesome. Give your names to Kurama while I pick ten more."

Once all twenty of the demons had been selected and recorded, Kurama looked at the king. "If you'll write a letter explaining the terms of your gift, my lord, we can send these people on to Alaric to await placement."

"Can't I just write To: Mukuro, From: Yusuke on a post-it?" Yusuke complained. Kurama raised an eyebrow and said nothing. "Goddamnit. Fine," the king retorted. "Will you at least help me make it sound good?"

"Of course I will," Kurama replied. He watched the other demons file out, then handed Yusuke paper and a pen. "You need to specify how long you are lending her your people and when you expect them back."

"Okay." Yusuke furrowed his brow and began to write.

"And please do not swear in this letter, Yusuke."

The dark haired king crumpled up the paper. "You suck."

Kurama shook his head with a fond smile. "I suppose as your consort I could send an orb with your instructions with the demons you've selected."

"Thank you!" Yusuke returned gratefully. "Way to finally be useful, Kurama." He stood up, working the kinks from his back. "I knew I gave you this job for a reason."

"A reason besides my ineffable wit?"

"Well it was that cute butt of yours that did it really." The king winked, kissed his consort on the lips and walked away.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I'm so glad that you guys like how I have been portraying Mukuro. I love her.

2. Don't worry. Kurama and Hiei are a dynamic duo, and even though they are not together in this story, they won't be apart for long!


	23. The Receiving

The Receiving

Mukuro banged on Hiei's door. Her heir had been in a snit ever since they'd visited Yusuke at the new capital, and it was pissing her off. Now there were twenty demons from Yusuke's fortress waiting to her acknowledged by her, and she couldn't get the damned jaganshi out of his room.

"Hiei get out here," she demanded. There was no answer. "If you're not out here in five seconds, I swear by all the gods, I will find all the children in Alaric and put you in charge of watching them."

That did the trick, and Hiei emerged looking murderous. "Have I mentioned lately that I hate you?"

"You have. I don't care. Let's go." Mukuro led him to the meeting room.

"Why are we here?" Hiei wanted to know.

"Yusuke's sent us the people for the border and a missive. He did not send Kurama."

Hiei relaxed imperceptibly, but maintained his scowl. "I don't care."

"Right." Mukuro smiled at the assembled demons from the capital. "Welcome to Alaric, men. I am glad to see you."

One of the bald demons stepped forward and bowed. "A message from Lord Kurama on behalf of King Yusuke." He handed her an orb.

Mukuro threw it against a wall where it shattered and formed an image of Kurama.

"Good afternoon, Mukuro, Hiei," the image said. "I trust the men from our lord king arrived safely. King Yusuke trusts that they will serve you well and invites you to send them back when you feel they can be spared. He has also paid a visit to Yomi, and you should expect twenty demons from him soon. If they do not arrive in the next few days, please send word. The king send his regards."

The image dissolved and Mukuro smirked. "I could come to love this new regime."

* * *

A few notes:

1. I found the Yu Yu Hakusho Kink Meme over the weekend, and it is FABULOUS! They make the point that Kurama is the fandom bicycle. It's so true: everyone's had a ride.

2. I got the idea for a Kurama/Hiei AU vampire story last week that I'm really excited about. Would anyone read something like that, or is it too cheesy?


	24. The Opportunity

The Opportunity

Mukuro was pouring over maps of the border, marking the places she could put the new troops she had acquired so they would be of the most use. To her surprise, Yomi's twenty had shown up a couple days after Yusuke's, giving her the most demons at her disposal that she had ever had. She was almost giddy. Almost.

She flared her aura, letting Hiei know she wanted to see him. The petulant child had gotten better about ignoring her, and in less than a minute he was sitting in her office.

"What?"

"How opposed are you to going to the capital?"

Hiei gave her suspicious look. "What?"

"I need to send a message of thanks to the king for his prompt attention to the border issue. I'm going to send it with you if you've gotten over your childishness regarding Kurama, or someone else if you're still pouting."

"I have a choice?" Hiei asked incredulously. "You never give choices."

Mukuro shrugged. "You're not a slave, Hiei. I thought you might like a chance to go make amends with your friends, but you are within your rights to refuse. I'd rather not have you go there and be rude to the king after all he has done at my request."

Hiei thought about it. He would never admit it out loud, but he missed Kurama. He missed the gleam the fox got in his eye when he was being a manipulative bastard. Hell, he even missed _Yusuke_. He'd forgotten how having the two of them to look forward to made being stuck in Alaric with Mukuro more bearable.

"Well?" the lady demon asked.

"I'll go."

Mukuro grinned. "I thought you'd agree." She handed him an orb. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Like what?"

"Like set things on fire, or try to convince Kurama to be with you again instead of Yusuke. That ship has sailed. Permanently."

"I know that," Hiei snapped. And he did.


	25. The Prelude

The Prelude

Kurama hummed to himself as he placed the formal outfits he'd had commissioned for the king in Yusuke's wardrobe. He went along smoothing wrinkles here and enforcing creases there. It was pleasurable work. Kurama had never dreamed of being this domestic for Yusuke, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. It made him feel needed.

He had just started making the bed when a familiar aura approached the fortress.

Yusuke looked up from the desk in the room where he was reading a letter from one of Enki's people requesting the right to hunt in the human world. "Hiei?" he asked.

Kurama nodded. "And without Mukuro. Interesting."

"Should we go greet him?"

"He is probably here on official business. I doubt he would come for anything else."

"Then we'll go." Yusuke stood up and worked the kinks out of his back. "Why do these idiots think I'm going to let them go into Ningenkai to grab up humans for sport?"

Kurama smiled at him. "I believe they think you idealistic and not fully devoted to your laws." He took the king's hand as they walked out of the room.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Well I'm just going to keep rejecting them."

They walked towards the throne room where Hokushin waited. "I was just about to send for you, my lords. You have a visitor from Mukuro."

"Yeah we figured that out on our own, thanks, Hokushin. Did he say what he wanted?"

"Just to speak to you two," the general replied.

Yusuke looked at Kurama who nodded, and together they walked into the room.

Hiei was leaning against the wall, his aura snapping with his nervousness. He started when his friends entered and took their seats on the thrones.

"Hiei," Yusuke greeted.

"Your Majesty," was the sardonic response.

Yusuke grinned. That was the Hiei he knew.

* * *

A few notes:

1. So seriously, guys? I love you. You make writing this so worthwhile with your comments and reactions. When I committed to updating every week day I thought it was going to suck, but I am loving it just as much as you guys seem to be. Thank you so much for the support.

2. It seems like many of you would read a vampire story if I wrote one, and it won't leave me alone, so I'm going to write it. I'm going to get a few chapters out before I start posting it, so expect it in the next few weeks.

3. Knowing me, I'll give said vampire story a cheesy ass name. Suggestions for a better one? If I choose yours then you get...I don't know, a one shot of your choosing written by me? Would you guys be into that?

4. Speaking of reviews and such, I recently broke 100! Also, if you have questions, or say something I find funny/agree with, expect a response from me. I want to be friends with all of you guys! I've made a few friends through fanfiction and I would love to make more.

Ahem. Crazy author moment over now.


	26. The Conversation

The Conversation

"So what can we do for you, Hiei?" Yusuke asked.

"Mukuro sent this." Hiei tossed the orb against the wall and Mukuro's image formed.

"Lord King, I just want to thank you for being so prompt in your response to my request. Your men were received as well as Yomi's. I am in your debt," the image said, then dissolved.

"Oh good. They got there," Kurama remarked. "I'll make a note of that." He trained green eyes on the shorter demon. "Was that all, Hiei?"

The jaganshi fidgeted. "No. I…wanted to talk to you."

Kurama arched an eyebrow. "Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Yusuke."

Hiei glared at the fox for making this harder on him, but knew that he was in no position to make demands. "Fine. I wanted to…to…"

"Apologize?" Yusuke suggested.

"Hn."

"For?" Kurama queried.

"For setting your bed on fire…and calling you a whore. Twice. You're not a whore."

Kurama smiled softly. "Thank you. I accept your apology."

"Where does that leave us?" Hiei wanted to know.

"I'm not sure, Hiei. I am with Yusuke now, and I have no plans to change that. Still, I would like to be friends with you if that is something you think you can handle. And if Yusuke doesn't mind, of course."

Yusuke gave him a bewildered look. "Why would I mind? You and Hiei were friends before I came along. I wouldn't want to come between you just because you and I are together."

"I wasn't really asking your permission," Kurama said with a smirk. "Just wanted your input."

"You're incorrigible."

"You have no idea," Hiei muttered.

Yusuke pinned the fire demon with his gaze. "Look, Hiei. My only issue with you is that you hurt Kurama. But you seem sorry, so I'm going to stay out of this one."

Hiei blinked. "Then we're…"

"Friends again? Yeah. I don't see why we shouldn't be."

Red eyes slanted Kurama's way. "And you?"

The kitsune regarded him for a moment before he spoke. "I want to have a more thorough discussion with you before I make any decisions."

Yusuke got to his feet. "Well that's my cue. If you need me, I'll be in my office explaining in letter form for the hundredth time that gnawing on babies still counts as eating humans."

* * *

A few notes:

1. See? I told you they wouldn't be apart for long. Hiei and Kurama are less than themselves without each other.

2. Don't be fooled by Kurama's little shows of domesticity. He's still the same wily fox we all know and love; it just suits him to play this role right now.

3. Thanks to all the reviewers! You make my life happy.


	27. The Resolution

The Resolution

"Can you not be sitting there while we do this?"

"Does it bother you that much that Yusuke and I are together?"

"It's not that it's Yusuke, but that it isn't me."

"Well you did have your chance."

"I know."

"And what do you want now, Hiei? Can you be content to just be my friend?"

"Yes. I…I need to have you in my life, Kurama."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why do you need me?"

"You know I'm not good at shit like this."

"Try. Please."

"I…you…You're like my sword arm, Kurama. You're ingrained in me so deeply that not knowing where you are and not being near you is painful."

"I _have_ been shielding myself from your Jagan since the fight."

"I know. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to pretend like you never meant anything to me."

"Alright, Hiei. I am willing to let you back into my life, but we aware that this is not something that can happen more than once. If you do something like that again, we are done."

"Okay."

"This is actually fortuitous timing. I could use your help with something."

"What is it?"

"Yomi's newest consort is someone I knew from my days as Youko, and I want to know how that came about."

"You suspect foul play."

"It's Yomi; of course I do."

"You want me to use the Jagan? Or infiltrate in person?"

"Whichever would make you happiest."

"Oh. Goody."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Poor simple Hiei. As if Kurama's going to let you off that easy...

2. There's this week's updates.


	28. The Punishment

The Punishment

Kurama climbed down off of the consort's throne and grinned at Hiei. "It's good to have you back."

There was a moment of silence, and then suddenly it was as if Hiei's brain cleared. He could feel Kurama beside him and the great calming aura around him. Kurama had stopped blocking the Jagan.

"Good to have you back too," the jaganshi muttered.

"How long are you going to be here?" Kurama wanted to know.

Hiei shrugged. "Until Mukuro gets pissed and calls me back."

"Fair enough. Let's go ask Yusuke where you can stay."

Hiei followed him to king's office, a little confused. He was surprised that Kurama was letting him off so easily. The fox had always struck him as more sadistic than this, but he wasn't going to complain about it.

Kurama opened the office door. "Hard at work?" he asked Yusuke.

"Ugh. I don't want to talk about it," the half demon groaned. "Did you two make up?"

"For the moment," Kurama replied with a cryptic smile. "Hiei's staying for a while, where should I put him?"

"Shit, Kurama, I don't know. There's like 400 rooms in this place."

"Ah, our king. So knowledgeable about his own home." Kurama kissed him on the cheek. "I'll take care of it. How much longer are you going to be at this?"

"At least until the end of the day, but I'll come to bed."

"Good," the kitsune's next kiss was for Yusuke's mouth, but his eyes were slanted towards Hiei with a triumphant light.

Fuck.

Hiei could see now what his punishment was going to be.


	29. The Admittance

The Admittance

Yusuke came to bed that night with a wry grin on his face. Kurama was reading, but he looked up from the thick tome when the king entered.

"What are you smiling about?" he wanted to know.

"I finally finished all my paperwork," Yusuke said.

"Did you?" the redhead replied coolly. "Or did you just resort to a generic message to all of the letters you had to answer."

The king pouted. "Figures I'd choose the most perceptive bastard in all three worlds to be my consort."

Kurama smiled. "You always did make good decisions."

"Really?"

"Well, no."

Yusuke chuckled as he took his shirt off and climbed into the bed. Kurama slept nude, but he wasn't comfortable doing the same yet. He and his consort had yet to cross into the physical part of the relationship, most likely because the kitsune was waiting for Yusuke to be ready. Which he wasn't. It was one thing to sleep in the same bed and kiss a male, but sex was something different. Well…it wasn't really, but Yusuke was going to continue to tell himself that it was, so he didn't have to admit his fear.

He kind of wished that the damned fox would just take him already so the ball was no longer in his court, but Kurama was too polite for that.

Expect he was really a shamelessly manipulative evil genius who always got what he wanted.

But a really polite one.

When he wanted to be.

Yusuke quickly cut off this line of thinking. Trying to unravel the many layers of Kurama's personality was enough to give anyone a headache.

* * *

A few notes:

1. God Kurama really is an enigma wrapped in a mystery isn't he?

2. Thanks for all the reviews, you guys! It's nice that you all get what I am trying to do here.


	30. The Game

The Game

"So you've been affectionate today," Yusuke remarked offhandedly.

"Have I?" Kurama responded without looking up. "I didn't notice any difference."

"Right. Why are you trying to torture Hiei?"

The redhead blinked. "Who says I'm-"

"Oh cut the crap, Kurama," Yusuke interjected.

Kurama sighed. Apparently he was getting more transparent in his old age. "Fine. I'm trying to torture Hiei."

"Why?"

"Because he's an idiot, and I'm a sadist."

It was Yusuke's turn to blink in confusion. "I thought you two made up."

"We did. Ostensibly."

"Um, Kurama? Regular people words please?"

Kurama smiled indulgently. "For all intents and purposes we made up. However, it is naïve of you two to believe that I am that forgiving. You know what happens to those who get on my bad side."

"Yeah, they usually end up as plant food," Yusuke said. "That's not going to happen to Hiei is it?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't kill him, but I am going to make him suffer a bit."

"So you're just going to shower me in fake affection whenever he's around." It wasn't a question.

Kurama moved so that he was straddling the king, he leaned down so that his mouth was pressed into Yusuke's pulse point, or where it would be if he had one. "There is nothing fake about what I feel for you, Yusuke."

"Oh. Goody."

The redhead burst out laughing and rolled off of his king.

"What? What's so funny?" Yusuke asked in alarm. The last time he had seen Kurama laugh this much was during the Sensui debacle.

"Just the fact that you're more like Hiei than I think either of you realize," Kurama replied once he had caught his breath.

"Hey!"

"Oh calm down," the kitsune placated. "Hiei's not all that bad."

"Says the demon determined to torture him."

Kurama smiled. "Believe me when I say that you are more noble than Hiei will ever be, Yusuke. You're also kinder and easier to get along with."

"And taller."

"That goes without saying."

Yusuke reached over and turned the bedside light off, snuggling up to Kurama under the covers. "You still love him though, don't you?"

Kurama didn't respond for a moment. "I do. But I am not one for second chances. Not when it comes to my heart."


	31. The Breakfast

The Breakfast

Yusuke stumbled into the dining room, half-awake and surprised to see Hiei already at the table eating an orange.

"Morning, Hiei," he said with a yawn.

Hiei inclined his head in greeting.

Chiyuka came out of the kitchen and placed a plate loaded with food in front of the king. "Good morning, my lord."

"Chiyuka," Yusuke said back. "Can I get some orange juice?"

"Right away, my lord."

Hiei glanced at Yusuke. "Where's the fox?"

"I don't know. He wasn't in bed when I woke up."

"Hn."

"What are your plans for the day?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"I'm taking a jaunt to Gandara," Hiei said.

"On Mukuro's behalf?"

"Something like that."

* * *

A few notes:

1. 31 chapters down! I'm not sure how long this is going to go on for. I was thinking 50 chapters when I first started it, but now I am not sure that will do it justice. We'll see.

2. I keep forgetting to mention this: Hiei and Kurama are as dear to me as real people. As such, I have made them twitter accounts where they tweet about demons, humanity, and their wife Sonata. Here are the links if you're interested

Kurama: twitter (dot) com / greenisthegrass

Hiei: twitter (dot) com / flying_shadows

They also have a tumblr where they talk about all sorts of things. It's called Life Like This and can be found at demonsandwhich (dot) tumblr (dot) com

3. Also feel free to follow me on twitter at twitter (dot) com / sonata_de_morte My tweets are protected, but I'll accept all you guys.

Alright, shameless promotion over. Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	32. The Sadist

The Sadist

"So you didn't tell him."

Kurama slanted his gaze in Hiei's direction as they ran along together. "Pardon?"

"I hate it when you pretend to be hard of hearing," Hiei groused.

"Very well. No. I did not tell Yusuke what we are doing today."

"Why not?"

"Various reasons. He would have wanted to come with us, and he's the king of the Makai. If this goes badly then I don't want him being dragged down with us."

"But if his consort gets caught it will still look bad on him," Hiei pointed out.

Kurama nodded. "Yes, but he can always punish me for it afterwards. It would be a win-win situation."

Hiei made a disgusted face at the pleased tone in the kitsune's voice. "Spare me."

"Jealous, Hiei?"

"Nauseous is more like it."

"Hm."

Kurama smiled to himself. His plan to make Hiei sorry that he had ever doubted him was going perfectly. He was sorry that he'd had to leave without telling Yusuke that morning, as it would have been an excellent opportunity for a long goodbye kiss.

This punishment was a win-win for Kurama too. He got to put the surly fire demon in his place _and_ he got to be extra affectionate with Yusuke. The kitsune hadn't lied when he said that there was nothing fake about these displays. He had wanted for so long to be able to touch and kiss the king whenever the mood struck, but he gathered that the younger half demon was not ready for that yet. It would not due to scare him this early in their relationship.

Still, Kurama knew that it wouldn't due for their first time to occur during Yusuke's warring time. Demon's didn't have heat cycles exactly. There just came a point once every year when the energy in their blood spiked to a dangerous high and there were two ways to deal with it. The first was to go on a killing spree until their baser instincts were sated. The second, well, Kurama found that method more palatable.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I know there is some debate about the whole YYH demons entering a heat cycle thing. I'm using a heat cycle-esque thing as a means to an end for something I think you all will like a lot. So please bare with me.

2. You guys? Have I expressed adequately how much I love you? Because I do. I have little fangirly moments everytime I read the nice things you say about me. It's so nice to be appreciated.

See you Monday!


	33. The Infiltration

The Infiltration

Kurama smiled to himself as he and Hiei prowled the corridors of Yomi's home. When he had been serving as the former king's general and consort, he had made sure that there were only enough holes in the security to let someone as skilled as himself through.

For a former bandit, Yomi was not nearly paranoid enough. He seemed to think that just because Kurama spent most of his time in Ningenkai, he didn't need to be worried about. Well, the kitsune delighted in changing people's opinions.

Hiei paused, looking to Kurama for directions. In this, he knew that the redhead had to take the lead.

Green eyes flickered to the right, and the two of them were off.

They passed a room that Kurama instantly identified as Yomi's treasure room. He made a mental note to return to that room when he wanted a trophy.

Finally they came to the room that was set aside for Yomi's consort. Hiei raised an eyebrow at the kitsune as he picked the lock on the door. He didn't understand how Kurama could be so cool about all this. He was in the home of his former employer preparing to do who knew what with Yomi's consort unbeknownst to the man he currently served.

The door clicked open and Kurama led them in. "That was easy enough," he said out loud.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" Hiei hissed. "Shut up."

Kurama laughed. "Use your senses, Hiei. There is no one on this floor. Yomi doesn't guard his consorts because he uses manipulation to keep them where he wants them. We're perfectly safe."

"Then why have we been being so silent this whole time?" Hiei ground out.

"You seemed to be enjoying the subterfuge of it all, and I didn't want to ruin that," Kurama replied. He covered his mouth to keep more laughter from spilling out, and entered Hotaru's room.

Hiei glowered at Kurama's back and entered after him.

* * *

Devious bastard...

I've got a LiveJournal now, you guys. I'll be posting somethings there that I might not post here. Here's the link: sonata-de-morte (dot) livejournal (dot) com.


	34. The Facts

The Facts

"How long am I going to have to endure this?"

"This what, Hiei?"

"This infernal punishment you're inflicting upon me. I already told you that I was sorry about what happened."

"So you did. I just want to ensure that it will never happen again."

"By making me want to kill you?"

"By showing you how it feels to be hurt."

"Hn. Like I don't know that feeling already. Besides, now that I figured out your little game, shouldn't it be over?"

"You assume that I was trying to hide it from you."

"That would be more your style."

"Yes. But sometimes there is something so satisfying about blatant sadism. You cannot deny that outright manipulation is also my style."

"Hn."

"Going monosyllabic will not make this any easier for you, Hiei."

"Shut up. What do you want from me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you were outright manipulating me. What is it you want me to do?"

"Ah. I said that you would know you were being manipulated. Not that you would know to what ends. Relax, Hiei. Don't you trust me?"

* * *

And that is of course, the operative question, isn't it?


	35. The Rising

The Rising

Hokushin smiled as he watched the young king talk to Enki. The former king had come by for a visit on his way to Alaric to offer his services to the border patrol. Yusuke was doing well, the bald demon decided.

"You're doing your ancestral father proud, lord king," Enki boomed and slapped Yusuke on the back.

"Thanks, Enki," the half demon gasped out. "I don't think I realized what I was getting myself into when I won that tournament."

Enki grinned. "That's always the way. This world shifts and changes too much for it to be predictable."

"Ain't that the truth. One thing I hate about this whole deal is how little time I have to do things I want. I haven't sparred with anyone in months."

"Your consort can help you with that," Enki said. "That's another of their uses."

"Huh. I never thought of that." That made Yusuke think. "Where is that fox anyway? I haven't seen him today."

"Who knows with that one?" the large demon replied with a shrug. "You'll need him to be here for you before long by the feel of it."

Hokushin started at that and stretched out his senses. Enki was right. Yusuke's energy was rising. His warring time was going to be upon him soon. Hokushin didn't think it was his place to explain that to the king, so he made a note to tell Kurama that perhaps he should make sure Yusuke was informed.


	36. The Truth

The Truth

When Hotaru returned to his room from sitting with Yomi at breakfast, he frowned. His door was unlocked which was not how he had left it, and there was a feeling of someone inside which there should not have been.

He kept himself alert as he entered. He wasn't expecting Yomi to have hired out someone to kill him or anything, but such things were possible. What Hotaru saw instead made his jaw drop.

"Kurama?" he hissed, shutting the door behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"Making a point."

Hotaru just stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You haven't changed a bit have you?"

"I have," Kurama argued. "For instance, haven't you noticed the hair color difference?"

"Fox, get to the point," Hiei snapped.

The redhead coughed. "I apologize. I haven't done a break in like this in decades, and I'm a little giddy. But to business: Hotaru, where is Leila?"

The other demon closed his eyes. "Dead."

"Yomi?" Kurama demanded.

"Oh, no," Hotaru hurried to assure him. "It's a long story."

Kurama sat on the bed and crossed his legs. "I don't intend to move until I hear it."

Hotaru smiled. "As single minded as ever. Very well." He eyed Hiei who was leaning against the opposite wall. "Is it safe to speak here?"

Green eyes slanted in Hiei's direction. The Jagan's energy flared briefly, and the fire demon nodded. "Hiei is a friend of mine," Kurama explained. "He's perfectly safe."

Hiei snorted. "For now."

"Well the now is what matters, Hiei."

Hotaru looked back and forth between his old friend and the small scowling demon. He found himself being insanely curious about what had happened to Kurama since they had parted ways.

* * *

GAH! I am sooooo sorry. I realized this afternoon that I didn't update yesterday because I was too buried in the trenches of homework hell to remember. Then I thought I'd update today, but the internet here on campus was down for hours. Anyway, that means you get a cliffie tonight before all is revealed on Monday. Thanks for reading and reviewing and have a good weekend!


	37. The Story

The Story

"Leila and I didn't realize how much we had been relying on stealing to get by. It was hard for us to survive as demons of our caliber since we didn't have any real fighting skills or powers. We moved into Raizen's territory because we figured that he was too busy starving to death to realize we were robbing the other demons blind. Before that we were suffering. Leila wanted to see about slipping into Ningenkai, but the SDF were cracking down on that kind of thing. We must have stayed in Raizen's lands for over a century. Leila talked me into moving, so we traveled into Gandara. Unfortunately, we didn't know Yomi had risen to power. He didn't take kindly to us doing to him what we all had done to so many others. He suggested that we serve him, and by suggested I mean demanded, but I didn't mind that much, for all I hated Yomi. It's not like I had anything else to do. Leila though…she ran. She tried to get into Ningenkai and was killed by a gang of A-class demons who were trying to do the same thing. I continued to serve Yomi because I was too distraught to do much else, and here I still am."

* * *

A few notes:

1. I think I rewrote this chapter like 75,000 times, and I am still not happy with it. I didn't want Yomi to come off as too big of a dick, but I knew that he had to be at the heart of this issue. So here's what I came up with. Sorry if it sucks.

2. In case you need a reminder, the SDF is the Spirit World Special Defence Force. Or the "Tool Brigade" as Yusuke so fondly dubs them.


	38. The Reaction

The Reaction

Kurama blinked once the story was over. "How did I never know you were here?" he demanded. "I was Yomi's consort for over a year, and I served his interests from Gandara for three years before that."

Hotaru sighed. "I was his messenger and spy before I became his consort. I can only assume that he would send me on my longer missions when you were here. He never explained why I had to stay in other places for so long, but it makes sense now. I'm fairly certain that he made me his consort to displease you. He has this…fascination with you."

It was Kurama's turn to sigh. "I know, but let's move on from that. My question to you, Hotaru, is do you want to remain working for Yomi?"

"What do you mean?"

"He means that we didn't break in here for the delight of your company," Hiei snapped, a little peeved at being ignored.

"Hiei's right. Rude, but right. If you want to escape from Yomi's clutches, then we are in a position to help you," Kurama said.

Hotaru frowned. "I thought you were the king's consort."

"I am."

"Then how can you say something like that? Won't the king be displeased if you go up against Yomi?"

Hiei and Kurama chuckled. "Yusuke is more understanding of these things than you would think," the redhead replied. "He wanted to be here to help, but I thought it was better for his reign if he were not involved."

"Huh. You must care about him a lot. I've never heard that much affection in your voice about a person before."

"I do," Kurama responded. "It's…an odd feeling."

* * *

A brief rant: Okay, so you guys know I love getting your reviews right? Because I do. And if you ever have a piece of constructive criticism for me, please do not hesitate to share it. I got a review last night from someone who chose to be known anonymously as "Ehh." Apparently "Ehh" was not pleased with the way the previous chapter went because they thought Leila, Hoatru's _dead _girlfriend that we know next to nothing about was a Mary Sue because of her character (whom we have never met) and her background (which I have not elaborated on very much). Let me offer a definition: "A **Mary Sue**, in fanfiction, is a fictional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as a wish-fulfillment for the author or reader. " Maybe I missed it when I wrote it, but since I offered nothing about her other than the fact that she was a thief who died, I don't think she counts as a Mary Sue. She is not pushing any agenda of mine, and she certainly is not supposed to be me. If anyone else has the same feelings as the mysterious "Ehh" please let me know. I do not want Mary Sues running rampant in my story. Even if they are dead.

Ahem. Rant over now.

I'm sorry if this was out of line or an overreaction, but I got a little peeved when I read the review, especially since it was anon so I can't ask them what they meant.


	39. The Edge

The Edge

Yusuke frowned as he walked through the halls of his home. He hadn't seen Kurama all day which of course meant that he was probably in Gandara with Hiei. The idea of that made him more than a little uncomfortable, which pissed him off because he was not supposed to be the jealous type. Still, when your…boyfriend, or whatever the kitsune was to him, was off with his ex who knew him better than he knew himself, jealousy felt like a valid reaction.

Hokushin came from the other direction with a concerned look on his face. "My lord are you alright?" He had been feeling the king's power spiking all day and it did not bode well. Now Yusuke was irritated, and it was rising the power levels even more. It was definitely approaching the half demon's warring time.

"Kurama's off somewhere with Hiei, and I'm annoyed."

"Do you doubt your consort's faithfulness?" Hokushin wanted to know.

"No…It's just…ugh. I know he's not going to do anything with Hiei, but my instincts say that Kurama should be here with me and not off with that little-" Yusuke broke off. "Why am I so upset about his? I'm not actually that upset about this."

Hokushin smiled gently. "It's your warring time, my lord. Your energy is going fever pitch unless you give it some release."

"Uh huh. How do I do that?"

The bald demon fidgeted. "You'll need to ask Kurama…"

"Well he isn't here is he?" Yusuke barked. He grimaced. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's quite alright, my lord. Tell me. Do you have a link to Kurama?"

"He said something about setting one up when he agreed to be my consort."

"Then I suggest you tap into it and let him know what is going on."

"Okay…" The half demon felt inside of himself for the cool green power that he had come to associate with Kurama. It was easy enough to locate in the tangled mass that was his own energy. He sent all the urgent feelings he was having along that link, and then he sent a message. _I need you._

* * *

A few notes:

1. Thanks so much for the outpouring of support after my rant yesterday. I have never felt so supported in a fandom before, and it's a really nice feeling.

2. There is a chance that I will be taking next week off from this story. I am swamped with work for school, and I really need to focus on it. I'll give you something nice to end the week on, and then be back the week after next. I hope that's okay.


	40. The Need

The Need

Kurama's head snapped up suddenly. He was awash in an inferno of urgency and confusion that did not belong to him.

_I need you. _Yusuke's message echoed along the link, and Kurama swore violently. Yusuke was not supposed to start this phase until at least another week, but he should have known that this, like everything else with Yusuke, would be highly unpredictable.

"I need to go," he said. "Hotaru, you should decide what you want to do about staying with Yomi. I'll either be back here, or I'll send Hiei. Either way, if you want out, we will assist." Kurama headed for the door.

"So you're just leaving?" Hiei wanted to know.

"Yusuke needs me."

"Oh."

"Yes."

With that, Kurama was gone. He was out of the castle and shifted into his fox form in less than a minute. Silvery white paws barely touched the ground as Kurama made his way back to Yusuke, all the while wondering why he was so nervous about this.

Yusuke meant a lot to him, but he had never felt such an urgency to get to another person. This was more than sex, and that was strange to the fox. Still, he knew he had to question it later.

* * *

Yusuke threw another of the monk like demons into the ground. "It's useless," he snarled. "You can't win."

"The goal isn't to win, my lord. Believe me." Hokushin directed another of his underlings to rush the king. They had to keep him occupied until Kurama arrived. Already Yusuke's hair and grown down to his knees and the markings of his ancestral father were beginning to darken on his skin.

Yusuke threw back his head and screamed. "Why does it feel like I'm on fire?" he shouted as he dodged a kick to his head.

"That's your energy trying to make itself known. It wants you to let it out, and apparently you aren't doing that."

"Well no shit, Hokushin. I'm reigning it in to keep from hurting you guys."

"And that is where you are going wrong," a smooth voice said from behind him.

Yusuke whirled around and snapped his hand out to wrap around the slender neck of his pretty redhead. "Kurama," he whispered, snapping his hand back. "You're going to fight me?"

"On the contrary, I am going to help you relive your issue another way. A more pleasurable way."

The throaty chuckle Kurama let out rose Yusuke's energy another level. "Watch it, Kurama," The king warned. "I'm not in my right mind."

"It's alright, Yusuke. Catch me," the kitsune ordered and dashed into the forest.


	41. The Taking

The Taking

Yusuke was after his fox in less than a second. The half demon was the faster of the two, but Kurama had age and agility on his side. So all Yusuke caught were flashes of red hair as Kurama flipped through the forest.

Kurama knew that this would not tire Yusuke out. If anything, the chase would just rev him up. But he had a plan.

He landed among the trees and leaned against one of the thicker ones, waiting for Yusuke to show up. He didn't have long to wait before the king came crashing up to him. The half demon didn't stop moving until he was pressed right up against Kurama. "Tag," he whispered in his ear.

He grabbed a handful of crimson hair and tugged. Kurama cried out as his head was jerked roughly to the side. He closed his eyes and gathered his energy. Suddenly where the redhead had been was the silvery Youko. Three forms in less than an hour…he was going to have to sleep for a week when this was over.

Yusuke's eyes narrowed as Kurama grabbed his wrist and removed his hand from the silver locks. He looked up to glare into golden eyes and found himself transfixed. Before he knew how to react, lips had crashed into his with burning intensity.

The mazoku returned the kiss with just as much fervor. He could already feel the cool presence of Kurama putting out some of the fire he was feeling while at the same time stoking another one.

There was no time for soft or gentle. Yusuke had Kurama's arm in a bruising grip with one hand while the other divested the kitsune of his clothes.

Kurama returned the favor until both of them stood nude in the forest. "What are we doing?" Yusuke panted between kisses.

"I am going to help you, Yusuke," that cold voice replied. "Do you consent?"

Yusuke nodded emphatically.

As much as Kurama enjoyed being on top, he knew that fucking Yusuke would do nothing for the king's problem. Yusuke had to do the fucking. So he turned around, bracing himself on the tree, and wiggled his ass enticingly.

Shuichi Kurama might not have been ready, but Youko had been around, so when Yusuke grabbed his hips and shoved into him hard, it only hurt a little. He made a small pain noise which emboldened the half demon to pull out and shove back in.

Yusuke had never done this before, so he relied purely on instinct. He thrust into his consort, delighting in the noises the fox made for him. They kept at it until finally the fires died and Yusuke collapsed onto the ground.

Kurama grimaced as he straightened up. He was also going to be sore for a week. Still, at least the king was sated for now. The first wave of the warring time was always the most potent, so perhaps they could go slow until the month was over.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Wow, it's hard to write a lemon in under 500 words. I hope this one sufficed.

2. Please remember that I am probably taking next week off from this story. I am in no way abandoning you guys, I just have a lot of work to do.

3. I'm sorry to those of you who thought Hiei might be involved in this encounter. I haven't decided yet if Hiei will enter into anything physical with Yusuke and Kurama. He definitely has to work things out with our favorite mischievous fox first.


	42. The Voyeur

The Voyeur

Hiei froze in place. He had been sprinting through the trees when a snarl of pleasure ripped through the thicket making his blood run cold. That sounded and felt like Yusuke. Just then two plumes of energy rose up and spread, running any lower class apparitions out of the area.

Hiei blinked. He wanted to stay away, but something spurred him to move closer. _Morbid curiosity. _He could feel his own power rising in challenge, but he beat that down. This was not the time.

When he arrived in what was clearly the epicenter of the power storm, his jaw nearly dropped. Kurama had shifted to his Youko form and was braced against a thick tree being positively pummeled by a transformed Yusuke.

The smell of blood and sex was heavy in the air, and Hiei winced as he watched what had to be extremely painful for the kitsune.

Something dawned on the jaganshi then. Kurama would never have let anyone have their way with him like that if there weren't extreme loyalty involved. Hiei was seeing what lengths the fox would go to for those he cared about. It was very similar to the time when he had been willing to give up his life for that human woman he loved. It hit Hiei all of a sudden what Kurama had been trying to teach him.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I'M BAAAAACK! Thank you guys so much for understanding that I needed a break from this story last week. I got a lot done.

2. What? Hiei had a revelation? Well I'll be damned.

3. Thanks for the reviews everyone! I don't think I said anything when it happened, but this story has cleared 200 reviews! Thank you so much.


	43. The Morning

The Morning

Yusuke opened his eyes and then blinked in confusion. He was in his bed, cuddled up beside Kurama, but he couldn't remember getting there.

The redhead shifted, and the blanket fell lower, revealing a deep purple bruise on Kurama's pale arm. Yusuke had a sudden flashback of himself gripping strong arms tightly and grabbing silver hair. He frowned. "Kurama?"

Green eyes blinked open. "Ngh," was the elegant reply.

"Kurama, what happened yesterday? Why are you bruised?"

"You got over zealous." Kurama shrugged and winced at the motion.

"Did we spar?"

Kurama smiled. "In a way. What is the last thing you remember?"

Yusuke frowned harder. "I was throwing Hokushin's guys around, and then you showed up?"

"Yes. Anything else?"

"Then we went into the woods around the fortress?"

Kurama nodded. "We did. Then we had sex."

"WHAT?" As soon as Yusuke thought about it though, the memories came rushing back. "Shit, Kurama. Did I hurt you?"

"Only a little. Youko's form is more adept at the kind of vigor you were showing. It is a mark of how strong you are that the bruises transferred over to this form as well."

"I'm so sorry," Yusuke murmured.

"Don't be," Kurama replied. "It was necessary."

"But…I promised to never hurt you."

To Yusuke's extreme surprise, Kurama laughed. "Yusuke, dear, this is not the same thing at all. It's not like you chased me through the woods and then pinned me against a tree and took me." He stopped and looked confused. "Well, that _is_ what you did, but after I prompted you to. Rest assured that I do not fault you for what happened. Actually, I blame myself for not paying more attention to your energy levels before I left yesterday."

Yusuke thought about that. He had to admit that the kitsune had a point. He would have never wanted their first time to have been like that. Realizing that he was probably not a virgin anymore was a little much for that morning, so Yusuke focused on something else.

"Speaking of, what the hell did you think you were doing going to Gandara with Hiei and not telling me?"

"I suppose I thought I was doing just that," Kurama responded mildly.

"Yeah, well. Don't do it again."

"The breaking and entering part? Or the part where I didn't tell you?"

Yusuke snorted. "Hell if I care about you breaking into Yomi's place. You've got history there I don't even want to think about. I just…didn't like not knowing where you were."

"Or that I went with Hiei?"

"I never claimed to be rational."


	44. The Assurance

The Assurance

Kurama watched as Yusuke got out of bed and stretched. Muscles moved under his tanned skin and reminded the kitsune what they had been doing the day before. He shook that thought from his head. It was clear that the king was not comfortable with what they had done, and really the redhead himself was too sore to even be thinking about sex.

"Are you going to be alright?" Yusuke asked without meeting Kurama's eye.

"Of course. I have had worse done to me than this. Remember the vetch from the Dark Tournament? I did that to myself." Kurama sighed when that didn't get a response. "Yusuke, look at me."

Brown eyes darted up and were ensnared by honest green. "Everything is fine. _We_ are fine. Yes your first time having sex with me could have been gentler, but there is no reason to dwell on what could have been. Look at it this way: most couples struggle to get over the obstacle of their first sexual encounter. We flew by it. It can only get better from here. Trust me."

"I guess you're right."

"I am. Now, what are your plans for the day?"

"That depends. Am I going to have the overwhelming urge to kill everything I see again today?"

Kurama smiled. "No, you shouldn't. You might need some small amount of physical release, but these things come in waves. The crest of your first wave was yesterday."

"So it's just going to build again?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"The rest of the month at the most. I should be better prepared for the next crest now that I know when to expect it."

"How can you be so nonchalant about this whole thing? I could have really hurt you."

"I used to sleep with Hiei, Yusuke. I am used to a little pain with my pleasure."

"Alright, alright. Don't make me think about that." Yusuke stretched and yawned. "So breakfast in bed?"

He was rewarded with a brilliant smile. "Please and thank you."

Yusuke leaned over and kissed Kurama soundly on the lips. "Next time will be better," he whispered.

Kurama just smiled at him as he left the room, then settled back against the pillows. "Of that I have no doubt, Yusuke," he murmured to himself.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Kurama's such a trooper. He's always taking one for the team.

2. We are rapidly approaching 50 chapters of this story. That was originally going to be my end point, but I think there could be more to flesh out in this story. It probably won't get to 100 chapters, but maybe like 75. Would you guys stick with it for that long?

3. On an unrelated note: I have a week a two days before I'm done with school for the semester! YES!


	45. The Rival

The Rival

Hiei was already in the dining room when Yusuke arrived. "Who even knew you _ate _breakfast?" the king asked as he sat down.

"Hn," was all Hiei would say. He was staring at the half demon with wide eyes, almost as if he were trying to read his mind.

"Okay," Yusuke said slowly. He accepted his breakfast from Chiyuka with a smile. "Can I get a plate for Kurama?" he asked her. "He's…er…sick."

"Of course, my lord," the serving woman replied. "Would you like me to have it sent to him?"

"No, I'll take it. Thanks, Chiyuka."

Chiyuka bowed and left.

Hiei glared at the king. "Sick?"

"Something like that," Yusuke returned. "Also, could you not convince my consort it's a good idea to sneak out of the fortress without me?"

"You think that wasn't his idea?"

Yusuke sighed. "I'm sure it was. But I can't get pissed at him. Not while he's…"

"Sick?" Hiei said again.

"Right."

"Play someone else for a fool, Yusuke. I saw the two of you yesterday in the woods. I saw what he let you do to him."

The half demon dropped his head into his hands. "Ugh. I didn't mean for that to happen."

"I believe that," Hiei said. "Otherwise you'd be dead."

"You still love him."

"That doesn't matter. I can tell _you_ care for him."

"I do. And I feel really bad that he had to do that because I was out of control. We'll be more on top of it next time, he says."

Hiei nodded. "Then you will." The fire demon hesitated. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Sure," Yusuke said lifting his head.

"Let me take his breakfast in? I want to say something to him."

Yusuke thought about it. "Okay. But I want him to stay in bed. He needs the rest."

"I can only imagine," Hiei deadpanned.


	46. The Final

The Final

Kurama started as someone knocked on the bedroom door. "Come in," he called, thinking it was one of the servants in the castle coming to check on him.

When Hiei walked in carrying a tray piled with food, the redhead was surprised. "Good morning, Hiei," he greeted slowly. "I thought Yusuke was going to bring this."

"He was, but I asked him to let me do it," the jaganshi replied.

"Why?"

"I saw you and Yusuke in the woods yesterday," Hiei said. "I followed you, and I saw what you did for him."

Kurama looked away. "I didn't have a choice."

"I don't understand how you can be simultaneously one of the most selfish and selfless people I have ever met," Hiei mused. "And of course you had a choice. Your regard for Yusuke just made it seem like you didn't."

"Valid," the kitsune accepted.

Hiei placed the tray in Kurama's lap and went to lean against the wall. "I can say that I never wanted to see you and Yusuke copulating, but I'm glad I did in this case."

"Why is that?"

"Because it helped me figure out your little lesson."

Kurama smirked. "Well it took long enough. Please, elaborate."

"Isn't it enough that I figured it out?"

"Of course not. What if you learned the wrong lesson?"

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Fine. I think you were trying to teach me a lesson about loyalty and intention."

Green eyes lit up. "Tell me more."

"You were trying to say that when someone has your trust then you are utterly loyal, unless you don't want to be, and you only _intentionally_ don't want to. Like when someone hurts you and you punish them for it. Otherwise, there is no reason to question your loyalty."

Kurama beamed at him. "Very good. There was also something in there about levels of loyalty and who could lay claim to it first, but I think you learned that well enough with the mirror incident."

"Hn."

"I am pleased that you figured it so well, Hiei. Now, we are truly fine."

"No more little tests then?"

"No more. Unless of course you want them."

Hiei snorted. "No thank you. I'll settle for things being back to normal."

"Fair enough." Kurama tried to stretch and then winced at the pain in his muscles.

"Did he hurt you badly?" Hiei wanted to know. "I won't tell him."

Kurama sighed. "Nothing serious, but it _will_ take a while to heal all of the bruises and tears. It's partially my fault for not being better prepared for something like this. My energy is very low from being in all of my forms yesterday, so I have to wait for it to build back up before I can heal my injuries."

"Do you…need anything?" Hiei asked.

"Could you keep my food warm while I go take a shower?" Kurama requested. "And see about getting these sheets changed? I'd like to be clean."

"Yeah, okay."

"Thank you, Hiei."

* * *

A few notes:

1. So Hiei finally learned his lesson, and he and Kurama can be friends again. Is this going to cut down on the amount of PDA between Kurama and Yusuke? Not a chance. Now Kurama just likes it.

2. I have decided that Hiei is NOT going to enter into the Kurama/Yusuke relationship. So no threesomes. Sorry.

3. If you have any ideas for kingly things Yusuke can deal with, please let me know. I am running out of ideas.

See you Monday!


	47. The Recovery

The Recovery

Three days into his bed rest, Kurama's energy returned in full. He healed his injuries and climbed clumsily out of the bed. It felt good to dress himself and walk out of the room after sleeping for nearly three days straight. He found Yusuke in his office, reading from a thick stack of papers. The king looked up as Kurama entered.

"Hey! Good to see you on your feet, Kurama." He frowned. "Are you sure that's okay?"

Kurama smiled. "It's perfectly fine. My energy is back to its usual levels, and all my injuries are healed." The kitsune closed his eyes and focused on Yusuke's energy. "Hm. I thought you'd be closer to cresting by now."

"Hiei's been sparring with me in the evenings to help keep my energy down."

"That's nice of him." Kurama sat down in the chair across from the desk. "What are you reading?"

"Reports from the border," Yusuke replied. "Mukuro's pleased with the extra people we sent her."

"Excellent."

"Oh hey, I forgot to ask before, but what happened with Hotaru?"

"Ah. It turns out it was nothing nearly as insidious as I thought." Kurama rehashed the story Hotaru had told him for the king.

"So are you going to go back and get him?"

"If he wishes."

"You know, I could just order Yomi to release him," Yusuke said. "It's within my rights as king."

"I do know. I'm not sure if it will come to that. Hotaru seemed content to remain where he was for the most part."

"Well, I'm prepared to step in if I need to."

Kurama smiled and stood up. He walked around the desk and put himself in Yusuke's lap. "You are a good king," he murmured, kissing him.

Yusuke smiled back. "I'm trying. You're a better consort than I am a king though."

"Or as Hiei puts it, I am a self sacrificing fool," Kurama replied.

"What does Hiei know?" Yusuke asked, going in for a kiss.

"Absolutely nothing."

* * *

A few notes:

1. is being screwy again, so it took me a while to figure out how to get this up without being able to upload the document. Can you say pain in the ass?

2. A reviewer has suggested that this story should end in a couple of chapters and not introduce anything new. What do the rest of you think? I don't want to drag this out if no one wants new stuff added.

3. Oh my god, you guys! I just took my last final! All I have to do now is pack, and I can go home. Yay!


	48. The Questioning

The Questioning

Kurama wandered out into the courtyard of the fortress. Yusuke's home was in one of the drier regions of the Makai, but Kurama could make plants grow in asphalt if he wanted to, so there was a moderately sized garden tucked under an alcove out of the harsh sunlight. These plants required his near constant attention, and in his absence for the last three days, some of them had begun to wilt.

The fox tutted and moved to refresh them. "This won't do," he said, stroking a stem here, a petal there. "I'm sorry you have been neglected, lovelies. I did need the rest though."

"Does talking to them actually do anything?" a voice said from above him.

Kurama smiled and continued his work. "Yes of course, Hiei. They can understand my intent and my tone. Plants are much more intelligent and aware than people give them credit for."

"Hn." Hiei landed next to Kurama from wherever he had been perched, careful not to step on any of the greenery. "So you're up."

"I am."

"You were out for over two days. Your energy must have been depleted."

"It was for the most part. The sleep restored my energy which I used to heal myself."

"Yusuke was worried."

Kurama smiled. "I have assured him of my well being. Oh, and I must thank you for keeping his energy levels down while I was asleep."

Hiei looked away. "It only made sense."

"Regardless, you have my thanks." Kurama was silent for a moment, then he turned to face the fire demon. "What are your plans, Hiei?"

"For what?"

"For your life. Will you content yourself to be Mukuro's errand boy for the next few centuries?"

"I am her heir," Hiei snapped.

"True. So then will you take over Alaric when the lady wants to retire?"

"I…don't know. And why do you care?"

Kurama shrugged. "Because you're my friend. Because you're Yusuke's friend. Because Yusuke won't be king forever and then there will be decisions to make."

Hiei narrowed his eyes. "Decisions about what?" he said. "You said that _we_ were done."

"We _are_ done romantically, but that doesn't mean that I don't still care what happens to you, Hiei. Can friendship really be that confusing for you?"

Hiei didn't reply.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Thanks so much for the support you guys. I have a bunch of ideas now, and the story will continue.


	49. The Lover

The Lover

Yusuke grinned as Kurama came to bed. He had been sleeping in one of the guest rooms while Kurama was recovering so as not to disturb his consort. He was very glad that Kurama was better so they could sleep together again.

Kurama slipped underneath the covers and sighed happily as Yusuke wrapped strong arms around him. They usually slept facing each other which Kurama enjoyed because he liked to watch Yusuke's face soften as he fell into slumber. Now, he watched those chocolate colored eyes watch him and smiled. "May I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Have you thought any about what you are going to do at the end of these three years?"

Yusuke furrowed his brow. "Not really. I've been so focused on not fucking this job up. Why do you want to know?"

Kurama was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I suppose I'm just worried," he said finally. "I have to go back to the human world eventually, if only just to give my mother another excuse about my absence. You seem to have no such obligations."

"I'd probably want to go see my mom and Kuwabara and hell, even Keiko even though I'm pretty sure she hates me now. What are you really asking?"

The fox chuckled at Yusuke's perceptiveness. "I'm asking what is going to happen to us when you no longer need a consort."

Yusuke blinked. "What do you mean? I'm not going to dump you because you don't need a fancy title anymore. You'd still be my boyfriend or whatever. I'd still lo-" The king broke off quickly.

Now it was Kurama's turn to blink in confusion. "You'd still what, Yusuke?"

The king struggled for a moment, having a hard time making words come out of his mouth. Eventually he gave up and settled for pulling Kurama closer and kissing him hard on the mouth. "Goodnight," he whispered and, for the first time in a long time, turned over so his back was to his bedmate.


	50. The Recollection

The Recollection

Yusuke was ashamed. He had spent all day in his office once Kurama had left telling himself that he wasn't going to hide from his feelings. He wasn't fucking fourteen anymore, and Kurama wasn't a school girl.

He'd almost blurted it out, but he had been afraid. "You can go ten rounds with some of the strongest demons the worlds have ever seen, but you can't tell your boyfriend that you love him. Way to go, Yusuke," he muttered under his breath as he paced outside.

"Way to go indeed," Hiei quipped as he dropped down from some rafter or other.

"I'm not in the mood, Hiei," the king cautioned. He looked at the fire demon and then up at the alcove they were under. "Are you a fucking vampire bat or something?"

"You love Kurama." It was not a question.

"Yeah. So? You gonna give me some bullshit talk about hurting him?"

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Nothing so ridiculous. I know you would never hurt the fox on purpose."

"No. I wouldn't," Yusuke replied.

"Which is why I'm going to give you a free piece of advice."

"This should be good. Advice from the guy who wrote the book on hurting Kurama."

Hiei scowled. "Yes. I did. And I am trying to keep you from doing the same thing. But if my words aren't wanted, I can go elsewhere."

That deflated Yusuke's ire. "I'm sorry," he said. "Tell me what you were going to say."

"If you love the fox then just tell him. He has had enough of having to decipher feelings from actions and half formed declarations. Be honest with him if you want to make him happy." Hiei turned to leave when Yusuke's voice stopped him.

"Why do you keep helping us?" the king wanted to know.

Hiei closed his eyes, still facing away from his friend. "You said something to me once, Yusuke. It was right before we went to Demon's Door Cave to rescue the oaf. Do you remember?"

"I've said a lot of stuff, Hiei."

"Well, I remember," the fire demon responded. "I remember everything." He opened his eyes and then flitted away.

Yusuke sighed. "And with that cryptic ass message, away he goes." Still, he couldn't deny that Hiei had been helpful to him, so he screwed up his courage and went to go find his consort.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I AM DONE WITH CLASSES UNTIL AUGUST. Now all I have to do is pack and get out of here. Hooray!

2. For those of you who do not have as good a memory as Hiei, he is referring to when Yusuke said the he knew Hiei would show up to help right when they needed him. It's kind of a think with him.

See you tomorrow!


	51. The Bravery

The Bravery

Kurama was lying in his garden with his hands behind his head, watching the clouds go by. The sky in the Makai was nothing like the sky in the human world. The clouds moved quickly, whipped around by moving energy and the wind that smelled of blood and power. Plus the sky was often red.

The redhead didn't know what to do. He felt strongly for Yusuke, and he could tell that the king felt strongly for him too, but Kurama was not willing to wait for Yusuke to grow up enough to say what he felt. He had spent too much time doing that with Hiei.

Just as he was thinking of the best way to tell the Yusuke this, the half demon appeared above him. "Hey," he said awkwardly.

Kurama closed his eyes. "Hello."

"So…I'm being an asshole."

Green eyes popped open at that assertion. "Excuse me?"

"I'm being an asshole. It's not fair for me to expect you to be able to decipher my feelings from my actions," Yusuke explained.

"You've been talking to Hiei."

Yusuke nodded. "He's being weirdly helpful this week. All the same, you deserve better than this, and I knew that before I talked to three eyes. Can I sit down?"

"It's your land, Yusuke. You may sit wherever you like."

The king chuckled. "No, Kurama. I may be in charge of all of the demon world right now, but this patch of land is definitely yours."

Kurama allowed a small smile to play around his lips. "Please have a seat."

"Thank you." Yusuke plopped down beside him. "I love you," he said all of a sudden.

"You do?"

"Yes. I love you, and I'm sorry I couldn't say it last night. I think on some level I was afraid you were going to reject me."

"How could I, Yusuke?" Kurama exclaimed. "I have wanted to be with you since nearly the moment we met. How could you doubt that my feelings for you were any less than your own for me?"

"I don't know," Yusuke responded. "You're so damned beautiful and smart. I thought maybe I wasn't good enough."

Kurama shook his head. "My beauty is nothing, Yusuke. And you are the king of the Makai. You are worth much more than I am."

Yusuke snorted. "I noticed you didn't say anything about me being smarter than you."

"Well I like to be honest when I can." Kurama smiled. "So you love me."

Yusuke nodded emphatically.

"Good. Then I can say that I feel the same way about you without scaring you off."

"Yep. I'm not scared of love," the king declared.

Kurama pulled the half demon's face down to his and placed a bruising kiss on his lips. "I love you," he whispered and delighted when it was whispered back.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I negelcted to mention it yesterday, but we've cleared 50 chapters and are closing in on 300 reviews! You guys amaze me.

2. Aww love.

See you Monday!


	52. The Gentling

The Gentling

Yusuke gasped as Kurama entered him slowly. They were still in the garden, though their positions had changed. Kurama was on top of the king, and he had raised the height of the plants to cover them. Their clothes were scattered around them, and they were lost in the feeling of skin on skin.

This was different from the last time, well the first time, they had done this. Yusuke was fully aware of what was going on, for one. He would never have expected Kurama to be so dominant, though as soon as that thought entered his head, he realized how wrong he was.

The fox was manipulating his body in the most delicious way possible, making him feel things he had never thought to feel.

Kurama pushed his way fully into the half demon and covered the answering cry with a kiss. He forced himself to hold still, letting Yusuke adjust. "How do you like this, my lord?" he whispered, letting his tongue play along the shell of Yusuke's ear.

"Ngh. Kurama," the king managed to reply. "_Move._"

"Your wish is my command." Kurama began to thrust, gently at first, then harder as the half demon's moans increased.

Yusuke sank his fingers into the supple flesh of the redhead's ass, trying to bring him closer. He could feel his powers rising, slowly and being sated by what he was getting from Kurama. "I love you," he whispered.

Kurama gazed down into those large brown eyes and tangled his fingers in the hair that was growing as the lay there. He never wanted to leave this boy turned king. He was surprised by that, and even more shocking was the fact that he didn't care. He would belong to Yusuke as long as Yusuke wanted.


	53. The Stylist

The Stylist

Yusuke glared at his consort. "Stop laughing damn it," he snapped. "It isn't funny."

Kurama snickered. "You should keep it like this," he said. "I like it." He allowed a husky tone to sneak into his voice, making the king blush.

They were fresh from the bath after their tryst in the garden, and the coal black hair that no fell to Yusuke's waist was wet and heavy. He wasn't used to it, so he was struggling to get it out of his way. He had already tried to pull it into something resembling a ponytail with limited success and now he was just glaring at it in the mirror.

"Can't you just cut it off like you did the first time?"

"I could," Kurama replied. "But that wouldn't be efficient. It is clear that every time there is an increase in your demonic power, your hair is going to react like this. You should just learn how to get used to it."

"But, Kuraaaaaamaaaa," the half demon whined.

"Oh come here, you giant child." Kurama rifled through his hair and found a blade of grass which his transformed into something resembling a machete.

Yusuke sat down on the floor in front of him, leaning his head back on the kitsune's knees. "What is it with you and long hair anyway?" he asked.

Kurama shrugged. "I personally do not like short hair for myself, and I seem to find men with longer hair more attractive." He ran pale, slender hands through the mass of hair that was pooled at his feet. "It's nice to touch and to _pull_." Kurama tugged Yusuke's head to the side sharply, leaning down to place a kiss on his neck. "But if you want it gone…"

"W-what could I do with it if I kept it?" Yusuke asked, trying to hide what Kurama was doing to him.

"Well, we could get it to a more manageable length for starters. Then perhaps do something to keep it out of your face."

"My old man used to wear a headband."

"Raizen?" Kurama thought for a moment. "Yes, that would work."

Yusuke was silent for a moment. "Fine. Let me see what it would look like, but if I don't like it, it's all going."

The redhead laughed. "Of course, my lord."

* * *

A few notes:

1. OMG I am soooo sorry, you guys. I got Final Fantasy XIII (I know I'm late to the party) yesterday, and I completely forgot to update. MY BAD!

2. I LOVE LONG HAIR. SO DOES KURAMA!


	54. The Dilemma

The Dilemma

Yomi frowned at his consort as he made his way into the dining hall for breakfast. For the past few days, there had been an air of happiness around the blue haired demon. That combined with the residue of Kurama's power that Yomi could feel in his home, and the huge spike of power from the king's fortress, led the blind demon to believe that Yusuke Urameshi had something to do with all of it.

He _liked _the king.

Ever since the first Makai tournament, Yomi had respected the young half demon. Really he had resisted getting involved with the border thing because he didn't get on with Mukuro and had no interest in helping her cause.

But now it seemed that Yusuke had been meddling with Hotaru, and Yomi didn't know how to feel about that.

Hotaru sat down at the table. "Good morning, Lord Yomi," he said.

"Hotaru," Yomi replied. "Tell me something."

"Yes, milord?"

"When was Kurama here?"

That froze the blue haired demon. "Kurama, my lord?"

"Oh do save the innocent act. I can feel him all over your part of the palace."

"He was here last week," Hotaru admitted reluctantly. "He just wanted to talk, nothing more."

"To talk about what?"

"About the events that had transpired since I saw him last."

"Namely, why you were working for me?"

Hotaru nodded.

"And you were honest with him?"

Another nod.

"And what did out valiant fox have to say when you told him the story?" Yomi wanted to know. "Did he come up with some clever plan to save you?"

Hotaru shook his head. "No, milord. He had to rush off to the aid of the king."

Well that cleared up a lot. Yusuke must have been in his warring time, leaving Kurama to have to deal with his energy. That would explain the spike Yomi had felt a few days previous.

"Do you want to leave me, Hotaru?" Yomi asked. "Haven't I been good to you?"

"You have, Lord Yomi, and I am appreciative. It's just…"

"Just?"

Hotaru sighed. "I had nothing to live for, or so I thought, when I accepted a position here. Now though…Well now I have recovered enough to be able to function on my own."

Yomi stroked his chin. "Take breakfast in your room, Hotaru. I need to think."


	55. The Complication

The Complication

Yusuke was sitting in the chair in his office, with one very lusty fox straddling him. He had made the decision to keep his hair long, and since then, Kurama had been having a hard time keeping his hands off of his king.

Now they were making out furiously, the office silent but for the sounds of their moans and having breathing.

Hokushin was outside the door feeling awkward. He needed to catch the king's attention, but the sounds coming from inside the room made him loathe to knock on the door. He had just lifted his hand when Kurama chuckled. "Come in, Hokushin," he said.

"Um. I'd rather not."

Another chuckle. "What's up, Hokushin?" Yusuke asked.

"You have a visitor, my lord."

"Is it an important one?"

Hokushin rolled his eyes. "Does it matter, my lord?"

"I guess not. I'll be right there."

Kurama smiled. "Your job is important, Yusuke. We can continue this later when there are less interruptions."

"You're right, you're right," Yusuke sighed. "Up then."

The fox bent backwards, resting his hands on the floor. He executed a ridiculously flexible move that took his legs over his head and ended with him upright on the floor. "Shall we go?" he asked, holding his hand out for Yusuke to take.

The king was gaping, trying to hide the…issue…Kurama's little move had risen. "Um…yes."

Kurama chuckled and grabbed Yusuke's hand. "Come on."

They walked to the throne room and stopped dead when they saw who had come to call on them. "Hotaru?" Yusuke asked.

The blue haired demon bowed. "It's good to see you again, lord king."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Whew! Stuff's getting crazy around here.

See you Monday! Unless the world ends, of course.


	56. The Invitation

The Invitation

"What are you doing here, Hotaru?" Kurama asked. "Did you run away from Yomi?"

"No, no. Nothing like that, Kurama. Please, sit down, both of you."

Yusuke walked to his throne and motioned for Kurama to take his seat beside him. The redhead obeyed, still looking confused. "Did Yomi free you?"

The king chucked. "You really hate being out of the loop, don't you?"

Kurama glared at him. "It is not something I am accustomed to, no."

Hotaru smiled. He knew little about this new king, but from the way he interacted with his consort, Hotaru could see that Yusuke was kind and good natured. He liked that. The demon cleared his throat. "Um. If I could speak?"

"Oh! Yeah, go ahead, Hotaru," Yusuke said.

"Lord Yomi has sent me here with a proposition for you, lord king."

That raised Yusuke's suspicions. "What kind of proposition?"

"He would like you and Kurama to return to Gandara where he will present you with an idea that he thinks will benefit the entire Makai."

"Since when has Yomi been interested in the well being of the Makai?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"He says that you have inspired him. Well, you and Kurama."

"It always comes back to Kurama with him doesn't it?"

"Regrettably it does, lord king."

"Bastard," Yusuke muttered. "Hey, you can knock it off with the 'lord king' stuff when no one's around to care. Kurama doesn't bother anymore, and if Hokushin weren't so damned proper, he wouldn't either. I'm just Yusuke."

"Very well, Yusuke. Do you accept Lord Yomi's offer?"

"Uh…" the king looked over at Kurama. "What do you think?"

Kurama thought about it. He didn't have enough information to try and figure out if there were some nefarious plot brewing in Gandara, but really he didn't think there would be. Yomi wasn't evil. He was just overly ambitious and he got bored easily.

"I think it's safe enough," the fox answered. "Yomi isn't stupid, he wouldn't try to assassinate you with me there. If you're interested we should go. Though perhaps we should take Hiei with us, just in case."

"For back up?"

Kurama nodded.

"Alright. I'll admit I'm curious as to what Yomi could be cooking up to help the whole frickken world. We're there Hotaru."


	57. The Interruption

The Interruption

Mukuro looked down her nose at the demon messenger who was in front of her. She had been called away from hearing reports from the border because she was told there was an urgent visitor. Whoever the hell this was, he didn't seem so urgent.

"Lady Mukuro," the demon said with a slight bow. "A pleasure to finally make you acquaintance."

Mukuro frowned. "What can I do for you…? Hotaru was it?"

"It was, lady. I come with a message from Lord Yomi."

"Oh. Well you can go back and tell him to go shove it up his ass. I don't have time for dealing with that fool."

Hotaru chuckled internally. His master did nothing to endear the other leaders to him. "Lady Mukuro, I beg you to reconsider. This is a matter of some import."

"What is so damned important that he couldn't have sent a letter or an orb?"

"He wanted this to be a more personal message."

The lady demon sighed and rubbed her temples. Hiei was still in the capital with the king, so dealing with the fools fell to her. She really needed to order her heir back to her side. "Alright then. Out with it."

The blue haired demon smiled. "Thank you. Lord Yomi cordially invites you and any bodyguards of your choosing to a formal dinner at his home in two weeks."

"The blind idiot sent you here because he wants to have dinner with me?" Mukuro demanded.

"Not exactly, lady. At the dinner he will reveal a plan that he hopes will benefit the monarchy and all of the Makai. He says that it will help further your cause at the border, lady."

"Yomi's never been big on helping me out at the border before. The last time I asked him for help, I had to get the king involved."

"Lord Yomi recognizes that and hopes that what he will present to you will make up for his lax feelings in the past. May I tell him you will be in attendance, Lady Mukuro?"

"Why not?" Mukuro replied. "Now I'm curious. Tell him I'll be there. Two weeks exactly?"

"Two weeks from yesterday," Hotaru clarified.

"Alright. Now get out. I have work to do."

"Of course, lady. Thank you for your time." Hotaru bowed and made his way out of the fortress. Once he was outside he sighed. It was not an easy thing, moving between locations so quickly. Still, Yomi's plan was worth it.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Curious yet? What could Yomi possibly have up his sleeves?

2. If you are interested in more ways to stalk me around the internet, I just got a tumblr for myself. It isn't terribly interesting yet, but it will eventually be chocked full of pictures and musings. Here's the link if you want to follow me: sonata-de-morte (dot) tumblr (dot) com


	58. The Assignment

The Assignment

After breakfast that day, Yomi went for a walk around his property. He could still feel that Kurama had been there. He could even feel where the fox had shifted to be able to move faster.

The blind demon stifled a sigh. One of the things he liked most about Kurama was that he made him feel like he was young again. There was something about the alto of Kurama's voice that instantly transported Yomi back to his thieving days There were a lot of things he had taken for granted about those days, and he wanted a chance to make things better.

Yomi started thinking about what he could do to make a difference. He liked Yusuke, so perhaps something to help him? The young king had a lot on his plate and could probably use some assistance.

"Well there's an idea."

The demon made his way to his study to begin plotting. Three hours later he summoned Hotaru and relayed the plan.

"That's brilliant, Lord Yomi, but how do you plan to get him to agree? It is my understanding that he already has a job," The blue haired demon said.

"He can do it from wherever he is. He will not be the one having to do the actual work; he just has to organize it."

"Where will you get someone who can do the work?"

"_I _will not. You, my faithful assistant, have a lot of work ahead of you."

"Assistant? I thought I was your consort, my lord."

Yomi smiled. "You were. But let us be honest. When is the last time you did a consort's main job?"

"It has been a very long time, Lord Yomi," Hotaru admitted.

"I think assistant is a more accurate title, don't you?"

"Thank you, my lord."

"You're welcome. Now, here is what I need you to do. Issue invitations to King Yusuke and Lady Mukuro for a dinner here in two and a half weeks."

"Are Kurama and Hiei invited as well?"

"If Yusuke chooses to bring them, then yes. They can bring whomever they want."

Hotaru frowned. "Forgive me, my lord, but this doesn't seem like you."

Yomi grinned. "All the better to keep everyone on their toes."

* * *

A few notes:

1. I can't reveal everything right away, guys. Where's the fun in that?

2. Friday will be when everything comes to light!


	59. The Contradiction

The Contradiction

"Hiei?" Kurama called as he walked into the room the fire demon had been occupying during his stay.

"What?"

Kurama rolled his eyes and looked up to where Hiei was sitting on one of the shelves in the room. "I don't want to seem…inconsiderate, but I must ask if your fascination with high places has anything to do with your expulsion from your birthplace."

Hiei frowned. "I never thought about that."

"I've always wondered. You have this thing for trees and other high places, when one would assume you'd be afraid of heights."

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Of course not." Kurama smiled and went to sit on the bed. "So do you have plans to go back to Mukuro anytime soon?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"We've been invited to Yomi's and we want you to come."

Hiei scowled. "Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"We thought you could serve as a bodyguard of sorts. In case Yomi has something sinister planned."

"Why are _you_ going to see him anyway? I didn't think you cared about him that much."

"Oh I certainly don't. Hotaru was here earlier this week with the invitation. Apparently my old friend has a plan to help the entire Makai."

"Your curiosity is going to get you killed one day," Hiei snapped.

Kurama grinned. "Those are cats, Hiei. Foxes are wonderful with curiosity."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll go."


	60. The Proposition

The Proposition

Yomi smiled as Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei filed into his dining room. Hiei stopped when he saw his employer sitting at the long table.

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Well. I'm not surprised."

Hiei shot his friend a look, and Yusuke scoffed.

"I'm not," the redhead insisted. "If Yomi is trying to do something to benefit the entire Makai, doesn't it make sense that he would have its most powerful players in the room?"

"Perceptive as always, Kurama," Yomi replied. "Yes, I have something in the works that I think will make everyone's lives much easier. Especially yours, lord king."

Yusuke snorted. "Well I'm all for it then. My life could use some easing."

Mukuro chuckled. "Then sit down. Yusuke, and let us find out exactly what it is that dear Yomi has concocted."

All of them were seated and Yomi clapped his hands. Hotaru entered, leading a parade of servants who sat down trays laden with succulent meats, vegetables, breads, and sauces. A large crystal decanter filled with a deep purple wine was brought out as well, and the servants left as quickly as they had arrived.

Hotaru took a seat not far from Kurama and looked at his friend. "Recognize the wine?" he asked.

The fox eyed it and then prodded it with a tendril of his power. He laughed when he figured it out. "_Shitagi Dorobou_," he said. "It's been over a century since the last time I drank this."

Yomi smiled. "I've been saving some for special occasions."

"From the heist at Asuna's manor?" Kurama asked.

"The very same. I have more stashed away, but there is a bottle of it waiting to go home with you and your king. Call it a late coronation gift."

"You're too kind," the redhead responded.

"Um…Kurama? A little help here?" Yusuke muttered.

"Oh! Forgive me, my lord." Kurama shook his head quickly, sitting at the table with Yomi and Hotaru talking of their days as bandits had taken him out of the moment, which was dangerous as they still did not know what Yomi had planned. "_Shitagi Dorobou_ translates roughly to panty thief. It is a wine made from a rare berry found in the thickest forests of the Makai that is very expensive to make and purchase. Years and years ago the three of us broke into a manor for the express purpose of removing the owner's supply of it."

"And why does it have such a name?" Mukuro asked.

"Because of its rather…potent nature. More than one glass is enough to send you drunkenly into the bed of whomever is nearest to you. I am surprised that you would bring it out for a formal dinner, Yomi," Kurama said.

"What is on the table is heavily diluted," Yomi explained. "It's about a sixth of the normal strength."

"And what you are giving Yusuke?"

"It's pure. I assumed you could handle diluting it or not."

"This is all well and good," Hiei interjected. "But aren't we here for a reason?"

"I must agree with my heir. I am only here out of curiosity about this plan of yours Yomi, and I must insist that we move this along."

"Mukuro, right as always."

"Oh bite me, Yomi. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to eat some of this fancy ass food you've laid out, and you're going to talk. Okay?"

"Fine with me. Please everyone, eat."

Yusuke shook his head and began piling his plate with food. "I thought _I_ was in charge here," he muttered.

Kurama leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "What if I bow to your authority when we get home?" he whispered in the king's ear.

Yusuke turned red, and Hiei choked on a mouthful of food while Mukuro smirked. "No need to ask how _that_ relationship is going."

"Indeed there is not," Yomi responded somewhat wistfully. "Let me explain my vision here. Things between the various powers in the Makai have always been strained. I believe a reason for this is poor communication. We have our spies of course, but that is not true communication. Lord king, you said something when you were last here that has stuck with me."

Yusuke paused mid chew. "What did I say?" he asked through a mouthful of bread.

"You said that the three major territories would be united in working the border. What if we were united in more than just this? I am sure that there will be a time when quick communication between us will come in handy, but there is nothing in place to make this a possibility."

"I read a lot of letters," Yusuke said. "I'd like it better if someone would just come and tell me what needs to be done."

"Here is my plan. You, my lord, will start having audiences. It will take a bit more patience on your part, but ultimately it will lighten your load. If there is something that I or Mukuro, should she agree to this, can do to help, you can let us know."

"By orb?" Kurama wanted to know.

Yomi shook his head. "Orbs can be compromised. What we need is something infallible. Telepathy."

The room fell silent then and everyone turned to look at Hiei who was, of course, the only telepath they all knew.

The jaganshi frowned. "So you want me to run all over this damned world delivering messages? No."

"That is not at all what I want. Hotaru is going to find you some labor. Fast, dumb, easily manipulated labor. You will be in control of all them, Hiei, using your mental control to pass on messages."

"That's…rather brilliant," Kurama breathed. "How would Yusuke get in touch with Hiei to tell him what messages need to be sent out?"

"I assume you and Hiei have a mental link?"

Kurama nodded.

"Is there a distance restriction?"

"Not that we know of," the redhead replied.

"If Hotaru and Hiei consent, I would ask that Hiei set up a link with him so that I have someone to relay my messages to Hiei. It would allow us to get help to more people when there is a need. It would allow the Makai to be united and organized for the first time ever."

Kurama poured himself a glass of the wine and leaned back in his chair. "It's a wonderful plan, but I must ask why you have come up with it. What do you care about the well being of the Makai?"

Yomi shrugged. "Yusuke is going to be in charge for three years and perhaps another three if he competes in the next tournament. Mukuro is on his side, and it doesn't make much sense for me to try to resist that. Instead, I thought I would try to do something endear myself to the current monarch."

"Clever," Mukuro said. "If the king's on board then I am. I'd like a way to get information out faster."

"It sounds good to me," Yusuke said. "What do you think, Kurama?"

"I think this can work, if everyone involved becomes a little less self-centered and we undertake it for the good of the Makai. For too long we have been seen as uncivilized and uncouth, and while demons are like that at times, it is time we handle our own affairs."

"Well said," Mukuro chimed in. "Hiei? Are you in agreement."

Hiei blinked. "I would be in charge? Of it all?"

"Well the king would be in charge over all, but you would be the head of information," Yomi answered.

Hiei remembered what Kurama had been asking him about his plans for the future. Here was a chance for him to have something that was his and his alone. He was the only one who could do this job. "Alright," he said. "I'll do it."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Whew! As a reward to all my fabulous readers for being so patient this week, you get an extra long chapter! Also, I realized that there was no way I could wrap the plan up in 500 words, so this works out for all of us.

2. Yomi's kinda smart, isn't he? All the other worlds have some form of organization. Why shouldn't the Makai?

3. I invented this wine by googling the japanese word for thief and the words panty thief were the first result. Let's just pretend it's a real thing, kay?

See you Monday!


	61. The Details

The Details

Yomi smiled in Hiei's direction. "Thank you. Between Mukuro, the king, and myself, we can come up with an appropriate salary for you."

"Hn."

"That means he's pleased," Kurama translated. "I have a question."

"Ask."

"What happens to all of this wonderful communication when or if a new king is chosen?"

"I am glad you asked that, Kurama," Yomi said. "This will be a way for us to subtly manipulate the system. Even if Yusuke is no longer king of the Makai, he is still the descendant of Raizen and is heir to his territory leaving him a major player in Makai politics. Kurama, I am sure that you will be by his side then as well. That leaves us in a position perfect for being able to screen this new ruler and to decide if they are worthy of the information we have and system we have put in place. If we decide that he or she is worthy, then we can integrate them. If we decide otherwise, well then _we_ will hold most of the power of the Makai."

"Because we would have won the people over with our attention to them during my reign," Yusuke realized. "Shit, Yomi. You're smart."

"Thank you, lord king," the blind demon said with a pleased look.

"Let me say what Kurama danced around," Mukuro remarked. "This all depends on us staying loyal to each other, does it not? A betrayal while we're involved this way would mean the collapse of the whole thing."

"I would know," Hiei said. "If someone was planning something, I would know."

"It _is_ exceedingly hard to lie to Hiei," Kurama offered. "Also I would think that if any of us sought to be dishonest in this endeavor, it would only serve to be that person's downfall. This is a meeting of the strongest powers, both political, and perhaps otherwise, in the Makai. The traitor would make very strong enemies."

"Very true," Yomi replied. "I think that this will work out very well if we all invest our selves in it."

"Well you've got me convinced, Yomi," Yusuke said with a yawn. He'd had two glasses of the wine, and even diluted, Makai alcohol was a great deal stronger than anything humans could make.

"Good. So, to the details then. Hiei, if you would set up a mental link with Hotaru tonight, then he can go find our labor and get your opinion without having to be near you."

Hiei nodded. "I'll set up the link, but I want to hunt the labor as well."

Mukuro snickered. "All this talk of politics making you antsy, Hiei?"

"Hn."

"That means yes," both Kurama and Mukuro responded.


	62. The Ride

The Ride

Yusuke was half asleep by the time they climbed into the carriage to go back to the capital, so Kurama whispered to Hokushin what they had discussed with Yomi.

"That's ingenious," the general replied. "Who knew Yomi was so resourceful?"

"I did. His ambition has always been a powerful thing. I'm glad he's turned it to something more useful now."

"How did the king handle himself?"

"Admirably. He will always be a bit immature, but he is shaping up to be a fantastic ruler."

"I _can_ hear you, you know," Yusuke snapped.

Kurama laughed as Hokushin and his fellow demons got the carriage moving. "So what did you think of your first political dinner?" he asked.

Yusuke shrugged. "It wasn't so bad. Made me glad I've got people like you and Yomi to think for me. I'm surprised Hiei agreed to everything so readily."

"I'm not," the redhead responded. "He's been looking for something like this. He wants to feel useful."

"Really? I thought he was all about hanging out in the rafters and scoffing at everything."

Kurama tutted. "You know him better than that. He's been very helpful recently. To us especially. I think on some level he's missed the teamwork that we all have had for so many years."

"That makes sense." Yusuke yawned again, and settled his head on Kurama's shoulder. "So…you said something about bowing to my authority when we get home."

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did, you bastard. Don't try to weasel your way out of it now."

"Well, if you're still awake when we arrive, I will be glad to."

A light snore was the reply.

Kurama shook his head and wondered how he was going to be able to go back to his quiet human life when this was over.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Yeah this is probably going end up being a hundred chapters or something. I'm...oddly excited about that.

2. H/K will always be my OTP, but Y/K is quickly gaining prominence in my head.

3. Thanks for all the support you guys constantly give. I love all of you!


	63. The Link

The Link

Hiei stood staring up at Hotaru. The blue haired demon was taller, but then so was everyone that Hiei met.

Red eyes met silver and Hotaru had to fight not to look away. There was something in the gaze of this smaller demon, something that spoke of horrors seen and committed. The apprehension turned to fascination as Hiei opened his third eye slowly.

"That must have hurt," Hotaru remarked.

Hiei shot him a dry look. "I could carve your forehead open and let you see for yourself."

"No, just the link will be fine."

The other demon sounded so much like Kurama then that Hiei couldn't help but smile a little. "Hn." He focused his Jagan on Hotaru's silver eyes and _pushed. _

All minds, human or demon, were guarded instinctively. The only way to set up mental connections between people was to put a small hole in that mental armor. Demons were usually more well guarded than humans, and Hotaru was no exception.

He had run with Kurama back in the day, so he was older. Usually the older the mind, the more guarded it was.

Hiei continued to push, being more gentle here than he was in anything else. If the hole he made was too big, Hotaru would be open to all kinds of attacks and could possibly go mad.

"You know," he said. "This would be easier if you helped."

"Oh! What do you need me to do?"

"Try to weaken your mental barriers some. Not all the way, but enough that I can get through."

Hotaru concentrated on that. He wasn't exactly sure how he could make his barriers weaker since he didn't spend much time maintaining them anyway. He tried thinking about soft things, hoping his defenses would follow suit. He thought of pillows, silk, Leila's-

Hiei pushed through and then immediately withdrew. "I did _not_ need to see that," he snapped.

"Sorry," Hotaru said. "But it worked. Right?"

Cautiously, Hiei slipped into the crack he had made. _Can you hear me?_

"Yes."

_Answer me with your mind, idiot._

_Yes, I can hear you. Will you get nicer the more I get to know you?_

Hiei blinked. _This _is _me being nice. _


	64. The Home

The Home

The next couple of days passed quietly as Yusuke tried to work out the details of holding audiences. Kurama offered his input as needed, but spent a lot of time staring out of windows looking mopey.

When he finally got a moment, the king decided to find out what was up with his consort.

He plopped down next to him in their bedroom one afternoon and laid his head in his lap. He shoved his hair out of his face, thinking that perhaps he could get used to it being longer if it would do what he told it to.

Kurama looked up from his book and took over smoothing the black locks back from Yusuke's eyes. "You need more practice," he murmured.

"Or a hedge trimmer."

The redhead chuckled. "Give it time."

"So…what's been up with you lately?"

"What do you mean?"

Yusuke shrugged. "I don't know. You've seemed down or something lately. Do we need to break into the panty wine and have party?"

Kurama smiled. "No. I'm alright."

"Oh come on, fox boy, I might not be all in your head like Hiei is, but I like to think that I know you better than that by now. I can tell when something's up."

"Have you thought about going back to Ningenkai at all?" Kurama wanted to know. "Just to visit?"

"Not really," the king replied. "Though now that you mention it, it does seem like a good idea. It'd be nice to see my mother and Kuwabara again. Hell, even Keiko though I'm sure she still hates me."

"Do you think it makes me disloyal to my mother if all I want is to stay here?"

Yusuke blinked. "Um…no." He didn't quite know how to react. He knew that Kurama had to be serious sometimes, but he got so used to the teasing air that the redhead said everything with that the almost melancholy in his voice threw the half demon.

"I forgot what it was like," Kurama admitted. "Living here and being in the thick of things."

"You've been here a lot before now though," Yusuke pointed out.

"Yes, but for missions or when I was forced into helping Yomi. I haven't felt at home in the Makai like I do now since I was in the height of my bandit days. And it's strange because I am still in Shuichi's form and it feels fine."

"So let's stay here then."

Kurama looked down into his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Yomi was right the other day when he said that even if I'm not king, I can still live here and have land and stuff. You're right that this place feels like home. When this whole king thing is over, let's just stay here."

"I can't," the fox replied shaking his head. "My mother."

"We don't have to stay here all the time. We can visit her whenever you want. It'll be great."

Kurama leaned down and pressed a kiss to Yusuke's lips. "Thank you."


	65. The Hunt

The Hunt

_What about that one? _

_Hn. It's slow. _

_Perhaps it can move quicker and is choosing not to?_

_Let's check. _

...

_No. It can move no quicker._

_Hiei! Now it's dead._

_Because it wasn't quick enough to get out of the way. Common sense tells a creature that when fire is heading towards it, it should run._

_Are you just going to kill all of our prospects?_

_These forests are full of demons, Hotaru. I'm narrowing the field._

_How does Kurama put up with you?_

_He knows when to argue and when to let me do what I want. Whether or not he chooses to do so is subject to his mood on any given day._

_Ha! Sounds like Kurama hasn't changed terribly much from the fox I knew._

_He has. In all the most annoying ways._

_Something tells me you're easily annoyed, Hiei. _

_Hn. What about that one?_

_Where?_

_Left._

_Hm. Feels strong. Why don't you burn it and see if it runs._

_Fine._

_Hiei, I was kid- Wow. It shot out of there. _

_Fast enough. Too smart?_

_Can you manipulate it if it is?_

_Possibly. _

_Then let's go after it._

_Hn. You go after it. I want to see if you're useless or not._

…_Why did I agree to have you in my head again?_

* * *

A few notes:

1. We're ending the week on a comical note.

2. I love these all dialog chapters. They are so much fun to write.

3. I haven't decided yet if Hiei and Hotaru will get together. I just wanted Hiei to have someone to banter with now that Kurama's using his wit on Yusuke. Hiei needs banter like humans need air. What do you guys think? Do you want to see them together?

See you Monday!


	66. The People

The People

If he hadn't known it before, holding audiences made Yusuke realize he was not a patient king. He and Kurama had made the decision to keep the audiences to local demons first, at least until Hiei and Hotaru had finished rounding up the help they needed.

Hokushin had taken charge of organizing the people when they arrived to speak with their king, and of course there were guards on hand in case someone got a little too rowdy. The system was working fine. What pissed Yusuke off were the idiots who came to see him in those first few weeks.

"Lord King, I _need _to go to the human world…for…work. Yes, work."

"My mate won't let me teach the kids to fly. Can't you order her get over it?"

"We need brothels down here, my lord. The locals are being too careful with their daughters, and I haven't been laid in years."

"Are you _sure _we can't eat humans?"

"Okay, that's it!" Yusuke roared with that last one. "Everybody out!"

"But, lord king-" one of the guards began.

"**OUT!**" There was power and authority in that voice, and it brooked no argument. Everyone filed out of the throne room. "Not you, Kurama," Yusuke clarified when the fox walked past him.

"What seems to be the problem, Yusuke?" the consort asked once the heavy door had slammed shut.

"We're supposed to be doing this to help people, right?"

Kurama nodded.

"But none of this stuff matters, Kurama! Brothels and flying brats? How the fuck is that important? And I swear if one more demon asks me about eating humans…"

The redhead chuckled. "Yusuke, we've only been at this for two weeks. The answer to world peace isn't just going to fall in your lap. You're going to have to deal with a lot of stuff like this first. And you need to do it with more grace than you have so far."

"Ugh. Why?" Yusuke groused.

"Have you ever read _The Prince, _Yusuke?"

The half demon gave him a blank look.

"It's a book by the Italian Niccolo Machiavelli written in the sixteenth century. Basically it details what a ruler needs to do to secure his power and make sure that it is not challenged. One of the most repeated musings is whether it is better to be loved by one's people or feared. Which do you think is better?"

Yusuke frowned, thinking. "I guess being loved because then people will follow you because they want to and with less resentment. But I can see how fear could work too."

"That is a good answer," Kurama replied. "It is hard to get demons to love you, but you should try. Once they are loyal to you, the ones who have brains anyway, almost nothing will shake that loyalty."

"So you're telling me I need to just deal with the bullshit," Yusuke muttered.

"I am."

"Fine. But I better go down as the most benevolent king this world has ever seen."

* * *

A few notes:

1. So seriously, _The Prince _is one of my favorite books. Machiavelli was a practical man even if he was something of a suck up.

2. Just as a head up, I'll probably be taking next week off from this story to work on some other stuff that I have in the works.


	67. The Scolding

The Scolding

Hiei followed Hotaru through the halls of Yomi's home in silence. To be honest, he was in a foul mood. The pair of them had been out in the wildernesses of Gandara hunting down demons to help with Yomi's plan without much luck.

Eventually Hiei had gotten frustrated and just started killing everything they saw.

They reached the kitchen soon enough, and Hotaru pressed the jaganshi into a chair before going to find him something to eat.

"We'll just have to try harder," the blue haired demon called. "Maybe go out farther?"

Hiei just grunted in response.

Hotaru sighed and came back in with a bowl of fruit. He set in down on the table rather harder than was needed. "Look," he said with exasperation. "I didn't _ask_ you to come with me on this hunting trip. You volunteered yourself, and I was okay with that because I wanted to get to know you. For some reason, I still do. So here's the deal. You're going to stop killing everything on sight, and you're going to start communicating with me. Okay?"

The fire demon blinked up at the other male. "Fine," he muttered.

Hotaru narrowed his eyes, but he nodded, dropping into the chair next to Hiei. "I'm not that bad to be around, am I?" he asked softly.

Hiei was quiet for a moment. "You're less of a know it all than the fox," he said finally.

"Wait…was that a compliment to me or an insult to Kurama?"

Hiei smirked. "Both. I'm talented."

"Was that a _joke_?"

Red eyes rolled as Hiei grabbed an apple from the bowl and stood up. "Let's go," he said.

"No wait, was it? Hiei?" Hotaru got to his feet and followed this smaller demon. He shook his head, pretty sure that even if they worked together for another decade he wouldn't understand Hiei's quirks. He didn't know how Kurama did it.


	68. The Progress

The Progress

"So can I ask you about your relationship with Kurama?" Hotaru asked as he and Hiei walked through the forests once again.

"If you must," was the reply.

"Let's say I must then. How did you get him to be in a relationship with you? The Kurama I knew was not one for commitment."

Hiei looked over his shoulder incredulously. "You think_ I_ was the one who pushed for a relationship?"

"Hm. Good point. How long were you two together?"

"Couple years."

"Wow. And then it was just over?"

Hiei closed his eyes. "Do you have a point to this, or are you trying to torture me?"

"Oh. I'm sorry," Hotaru said sincerely. "I guess I'm just really curious about the whole thing."

"Then go ask Kurama."

"Fair enough. You're still pretty lucky, you know."

"Hn."

"I mean, at least Kurama's still alive so you two can be friends. Leila, the love of my life, was killed, and I'll never see her again. And you know Kurama doesn't hate you. You'd be dead if that was the case."

"Your point?"

"That you, Hiei, have a lot to be grateful for."

They walked in silence for another couple of minutes.

"I know that," the jaganshi whispered.

"Good." Hotaru took the lead then, cocking his ear towards a particularly thick clump of trees. "I think we'll have some luck over there. Shall we?"

Hiei nodded. He opened the Jagan and scanned the area. _Three possibilities._ He reported to the other demon.

_Finally, things are looking up!_ Hotaru replied.

Hiei had to agree.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I think ate the alerts from yesterday, so make sure you go back and read chapter 67 if you haven't already!

2. No updates next week.


	69. The Reward

The Reward

With Kurama's guidance, Yusuke learned what it meant to be a good king. A kind king. He had been worried that if news of his benevolence got out, people would think he was weak.

Kurama shook his head. "No, they will remember that you were the one who killed Rando, Suzaku, the Triad, Toguro, and Sensui. They will remember your efforts at both the Dark and Makai Tournaments. You have already proven your strength."

"But won't they be pissed that I killed all those demons? I was a Spirit Detective, bane of the Makai."

"True. And they know that you still have your spirit powers. That's where the fear comes in," Kurama said referencing their discussion of _The Prince _

"So I want them to love _and_ fear me?" Yusuke asked.

"Pretty much. You want them to follow you willingly and know that there is a price for disobedience."

"I think I get it."

"Good," Kurama replied. It was late at night, and the two of them were in their bed. The redhead was tucked against Yusuke's side. He leaned up and whispered in the half demon's ear. "Remember when I was going to bend to your authority?"

"Yeah like a month and a half ago!" Yusuke complained.

"Better late than never. Besides, you've been so good about your duties lately, I think you deserve a reward."

"Damn right I do. Ruling is hard."

"So hard," Kurama echoed, rolling on top of his king and grinding down on him.

Yusuke bit back a moan and grinned. He had the two of them flipped in a matter of seconds. "I'm on top this time, my consort," he whispered in Kurama's ear, nipping the sensitive lobe as he went.

"Yes, my lord," Kurama gasped.

They never slept in clothes, so it was all to easy to grab the lube they kept on the night stand and prepare them both for what was to come.

Kurama slammed his head back against the pillows as Yusuke entered him. The king had been shy about being on top before now, which was fine with his usually dominant consort. But now, the fox was enjoying the feel of Yusuke stretching him, filling him up.

Yusuke rotated his hips in a slow circle, enjoying the lust that lit those large green eyes that he loved so much.

"Oh gods," Kurama whispered hotly. "Fuck me, Yusuke. Please."


	70. The Claiming

The Claiming

Yusuke loved hearing dirty things flow from that perfect mouth of Kurama's. So often he was using big words or explaining complicated ideas. It made Yusuke grin to think that he was responsible for the stream of unintelligible gibberish pouring from the fox right then.

They were both covered in a sheen of sweat, panting hard from their activity. Yusuke was thrusting hard into his consort, letting his instincts guide him when his experience was lacking.

Judging by the moans and gasps coming from Kurama, it seemed like his instincts were good at their job.

Yusuke moved so that one hand was against the bed next to Kurama's head, and the other was fisting Kurama's seeping erection.

"Yusuke. Yusuke, please," Kurama was panting.

"Please what?" the half demon asked with a wicked grin.

"Please…"

"Tell me what you want, Kurama," Yusuke ordered. He talked a big game, but he was moments away from exploding himself. Still, he was enjoying playing with his consort, and he wanted him to beg.

"Please, Yusuke. Please let me cum. I want- ah!" Kurama broke off as Yusuke hit his prostate head on with a powerful thrust.

"You want what?" Yusuke replied, squeezing Kurama harder. He leaned down and captured those rose petal lips in a bruising kiss, letting his tongue revel in Kurama's mouth.

The fox arched his back, wrapping his legs around the half demon's waist and shoving himself farther down of Yusuke's length. "Yusuke!"

Deciding he had done enough to his fox, Yusuke released him, using his speed to piston himself into the redhead.

"Ah!" Kurama clenched around Yusuke's erection as he came, splattering the king's chest with his cum.

Yusuke wasn't far behind, and he grabbed a fistful of Kurama's hair, yanking his head sharply to the left and sinking his teeth into the soft skin of his neck.

Green eyes widened. "Yusuke, what are you doing? Yusuke!"

But the demon had taken over the king's mind and he didn't answer right away. Instead he threw his head back and roared his pleasure for all the fortress to hear.

A moment later, Yusuke's eyes cleared of the power coursing through him and he collapsed on top of Kurama.

"Yusuke?" The redhead murmured softly.

"Hm?"

"Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"Fucked you?"

"Well yes, that. But you also marked me."

Yusuke yawned. "What does that mean?"

"When you bit me in the heat of passion like that, you were for all intents and purposes staking a claim over me. The mark shows that I am your intended."

There was a moment of silence after Kurama finished speaking.

"Is that a bad thing?" Yusuke asked finally.

"Then you meant it?"

"Well not at the time. I was going on pure instinct then, but I don't regret it now that I know. Who else would I want to mark?"

"Yusuke," Kurama cautioned. "You're young still…"

"Yeah, yeah, and impulsive as all hell. You saying you don't want me?"

"Of course I want you! But-"

"Then no buts. I want you, you want me. What's the problem?"

"I…suppose there isn't one."

"Good. So let's go to sleep."

* * *

A few notes:

1. More smexy goodness to take you into the weekend. And no, I didn't mean for the sex scene to fall on chapter 69. That was pure coincidence, but a nice one, don't you think?

2. As I mentioned earlier this week, I'm going to be taking next week off from this story. Hopefully I'll be debuting a new story to take the place of Sparks Fly which ends today.

See you next Monday!


	71. The Contender

The Contender

Hiei glared at the eight foot tall demon in front of him. His hand hovered near the hilt of his sword as Hotaru spoke to the grayish green demon with purple eyes and gray hair.

"Hello," Hotaru said pleasantly.

The demon peered down at him. "What do you want?"

"I wonder if you know who this is?" Hotaru asked, gesturing at Hiei.

Purple eyes slanted in the fire demon's direction. "Forbidden child," he said.

Hotaru winced, but nodded. "He is also the heir of Lady Mukuro of Alaric. I assume you remember the three kings."

The demon nodded. "Not stupid."

"Of course not. You are very near to the home of the late King Raizen," Hotaru continued. "Were you loyal to him?"

The demon shrugged. "He left us alone. Raizen was stupid. He didn't eat."

"No, no he didn't. Hiei and myself serve the new king, Raizen's son Yusuke. Have you heard of him?"

"Spirit detective. Came up with the tournament. He has killed many."

"That he has." Hotaru went on to describe how he and Hiei were looking for demons who wanted to help Yusuke. He talked about how their new king would reward loyalty and protect those who served him. When the tall demon looked interested, Hotaru explained the job to him.

"I have to let the small one in my head?" he asked. "He is fierce."

Hotaru looked at Hiei. _Reassure him._

_Of what?_

_That you won't murder him._

Hiei rolled his eyes. "I take loyalty seriously," was all he would say. It seemed to be enough.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Hello, lovely readers! I missed you! (Though I did enjoy my break very much)

2. I didn't get any work done last week. You know why? Because I got a Kindle. Magical thing, that Kindle. If you were thinking about getting one, but then weren't sure...well I love mine. Get one, seriously.

3. This is the last of the "Hiei and Hotaru look for helpers" chapters, because there is about to be some DRAMA up in the Makai. It all starts this week.

Good to be back! See you tomorrow.


	72. The Mark

The Mark

Yusuke yawned and stretched, rolling over to find some of Kurama's warmth and keep sleeping, but finding his spot vacant.

He opened brown eyes and found his consort leaning out of the window, a warm breeze stirring his red hair.

Kurama was still naked, and Yusuke eyed the long, lean line of his body and the slight curvature of his ass. One of his graceful hands was resting lightly on the spot where the king knew a nasty bite mark would be.

"Does it hurt?" he asked softly.

Startled green eyes flicked to him, and a smile lit the lovely face. "Not really," Kurama replied. "I believe I slept through the worst of the pain."

Yusuke sighed. "I've got to stop hurting you."

Kurama chuckled and turned back to the window. "I do not mind the pain, Yusuke. I like it mixed with my pleasure." The two lapsed into silent for a moment, before Kurama spoke again. "May I ask you something, Yusuke?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"You understand what your mark on me means, don't you?"

"We're…engaged?"

"I suppose that is a close enough comparison. Mating marks are more one sided than a human engagement though. You are essentially asserting your claim over me and making sure that all others know I am taken."

"Is that okay?" Yusuke asked nervously. He knew that Kurama had been okay with it the night before, but that had been in the haze of pleasure. Had the morning's clarity changed his mind?

This time Kurama turned around fully. "It is more than okay. I am…honored that you would choose me even now when you could probably have anyone you want."

Yusuke scoffed. "I don't want any of those fuckers. What the hell do they know about me? I want you."

"I know. And I feel the same. I love you."

"You said marks are one sided. What do you mean?"

"I mean that as of right now, I am bound to you, and you are free to do as you wish."

"What, like see other people?"

Kurama nodded.

"So mark me back," Yusuke responded with a shrug. "Right now."

"Yusuke, that has political ramifications that you might want to consider. If you bear my mark, then that puts me on an equal level with you politically."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You already do like over half the work of running this place. Why the hell shouldn't you be an equal? You know me, Kurama. I say fuck what everyone else thinks. I love you, and I'm as much yours as you are mine."

Kurama bowed his head. "Very well. I shall mark you."

"Only if you want to."

"Oh, I want to," the redhead assured him. "I want to."

The king laughed suddenly as something struck him.

"What?" Kurama asked.

"You're going to be my queen," Yusuke snickered.


	73. The Vacation

The Vacation

Yusuke and Kurama emerged from their room an hour later and headed to the dining room. Breakfast was placed before them, and they sat down gratefully to eat it.

Hokushin wandered in towards the end of the meal. He opened his mouth to say something to the king, then stopped. "My lord!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Yusuke asked, confused.

"You've…you've been marked!"

"Oh, yeah. That." Yusuke shrugged. "No big deal."

"No big- My lord, do you know what this means?"

Yusuke rolled his eyes and pointed at Kurama.

Hokushin lowered his eyes. "Of course. I should have expected. Still, my lord, this is important news." He flicked his gaze to Kurama. "You have been marked as well?"

The fox pushed back his curtain of red hair to show off the mark. "Last night."

"There will undoubtedly be some sort of backlash from this, my lord. There are still those in this world that see Kurama as a traitor to our kind. They will question your choice."

"They can all go to hell as far as I'm concerned," Yusuke replied. "He's mine and nobody is taking him from me."

Hokushin relaxed a little and smiled at the protective growl that suffused his king's voice. "Raizen would be proud of you, my lord," he said. "You do his bloodline well."

The half demon blushed. "Nah, he'd probably be pissed that I didn't stay with my human woman. I'm doing practically the same thing he did. I don't even know how Keiko is doing."

Kurama cleared his throat. "I was going to wait to mention this," he said. "But I would like to visit Ningenkai for a couple of days. I want to check up on my mother, and I was hoping you would come with me."

"Can I do that?" Yusuke asked. "If I leave, won't everything go to shit?"

Hokushin shook his head. "Not if you are only gone for a few days. I am more than capable of making sure things run smoothly here, and we can alert Yomi and Mukuro so that they can keep their ears open for suspicious behavior."

Yusuke nodded absently. "You want me to meet your mother?" he asked Kurama.

"You have already met her."

"Yeah, but not as…not as _this._" He gestured helplessly between them.

Kurama smiled. "True, but she will be alright with it. She has always thought that you were a good influence on me. She likes you more than Hiei anyway. We would only be gone for a weekend, Yusuke. I've found that my mother reacts to my absences better when I check in periodically."

"What the hell?" Yusuke shrugged. "Let's do it. Kings deserve vacations, right?"


	74. The Evasion

The Evasion

_Hiei?_

_What?_

_Will you do something for me? Well really it's for Yusuke._

_Depends._

_On what it is, I assume._

_Hn._

_Very well. Yusuke and I are going to Ningenkai this weekend, and he would like for Yomi and Mukuro to keep an eye on things for him. Can you pass the message along to them?_

_I'll tell Mukuro, but I don't completely trust Yomi yet. I'll tell Hotaru, and he can find some people to keep watch._

_Thank you, Hiei. How goes the hunt for help?_

_Well enough. We've got about ten recruits so far. Hotaru wants fifteen incase some of them prove incompetent and I kill them_

_Sounds like Hotaru is getting to know you well._

_Hn._

_Hmmm. Is there something going on there?_

_No. Shut up, fox._

_That did nothing to convince me._

_I don't care. What are you two going to Ningenkai for anyway?_

_Deft subject change, Hiei. I want to see my mother. Yusuke wants to see Kuwabara and perhaps Keiko if she's willing._

_You're not worried he might go back to her? His human woman?_

_I'm not._

_Your confidence is going to get you killed. _

_I am only confident when I have reason to be. I have no reason to doubt Yusuke._

…_What are you hiding from me? Your energy feels…different. _

_It's nothing, Hiei. Thank you for your help._

* * *

A few notes:

1. Ooooh Kurama be lying!

2. I still haven't decided what's going to happen with Hiei and Hotaru, but I'm glad you guys are liking their antics.


	75. The Trouble

The Trouble

"Hey, Kurama?" Yusuke asked as he sat on the bed watching his consort pack for both of them. The half demon had been haphazardly throwing things in a duffel bag until Kurama told him to go sit down and taken over.

"Hm?" the redhead responded.

"You said you talked to Hiei the other day?"

Kurama nodded, folding a shirt. "He's going to make sure that the right people have their eyes on the Makai while we're gone."

"Right. So…did you tell him about the marks when you talked to him?"

"Ah...no."

Yusuke let out a sigh. "No."

"No."

"Why not?"

Kurama put down his folding and looked his lover in the eyes. "Please don't start thinking that I am ashamed of you or that I want to go back to Hiei," he said. "I have every intention of telling him."

"Why wait?"

"Because he is more than likely going to take it rather badly. I expect name calling, and probably shunning for a good length of time. I figured it was better to wait until after he had done what we need him to do."

"You think he'll explode?"

"Perhaps not explode," Kurama said. "But I doubt it will be pretty."

"Sound like Hiei."

"Hiei doesn't understand displays of affection of this nature. I am not convinced that he believes in the permanence of love."

"Yeah, it's not like he has much to go on," the king remarked.

"Exactly. I can only hope that one day someone will show him true love _and_ that he will be willing to see it."

Yusuke opened his mouth to reply when a furious banging sounded on their bedroom door. "What the fuck, Hokushin?" he called. "Just come in."

But it was not Yusuke's general who opened the door and strode in.

"Koenma?" the king said, his mouth hanging open. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The prince of Reikai, standing tall in his older form, looked around the room. "Going somewhere, Yusuke?"

"Yeah, Kurama and I are headed to Ningenkai tomorrow. You here about setting up a portal?"

"I'm afraid not, and your trip will have to wait. We've got trouble."

Yusuke groaned and flopped back on the bed. "Why me?"

Kurama sighed and turned to Koenma. "What kind of trouble exactly?"

"The kind that means Yusuke is going to have to fight."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Of course there's trouble. Yusuke can't just take a peaceful vacation and not expect trouble.

2. I wanted to nip any confusion about why Kurama would have lied to Hiei in the bud right away. There's not going to be any Hiei/Kurama angst. Well...at least not on Kurama's end.

3. Oh hey, it's Koenma. Remember him?

See you Monday!


	76. The Compensation

The Compensation

"First and foremost, Yusuke, congratulations on your impending mating," Koenma said.

"How the hell do you know about that?"

"Well I can see the marks, idiot. Also, I see everything that goes on everywhere."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Then thanks. We're really happy together blah, blah, blah. Stop making small talk and tell me who's ass I have to kick."

"Fine. Someone is challenging your right to the throne of the Makai," Koenma replied.

"Is that all? Hell I was expecting that to have happened already."

Kurama frowned. "Why now?"

Koenma looked at him. "Because you two marked each other."

"Wait…no one else is supposed to know about that though," Yusuke said, sitting up. "I haven't made any kind of announcement or nothing."

"Which means we have a spy in our midst."

"Who all have you told, Yusuke?" Koenma asked.

"Just Hokushin at breakfast the other day."

"And you're sure of his loyalty?"

Yusuke scowled. "Hokushin's been here since Raizen was in charge. I trust him."

"Yes, I highly doubt this has anything to do with Hokushin or any of those who served Raizen originally. I have seen what they are willing to do for Yusuke," Kurama remarked.

"Shouldn't _you_ have seen something, Koenma? Mr. I see everything that goes on everywhere?" Yusuke snapped.

"I miss some things," the prince responded.

"Yeah, you do. Then it's up to me to find the things you miss and kill them. Frankly, I got tired of that a long ass time ago." The king got up and then slammed out of the room.

Kurama sighed. "Excuse him. I think he was really looking forward to having a break."

Koenma looked speculative. "Hmm…do you think that Kuwabara would be willing to help out with this new threat? I am not sure how big of a threat it is, but extra help is always needed."

"I suppose he'd come if we asked," Kurama mused. "Do you really think it's something Yusuke cannot handle on his own though?"

"No, he probably can."

"Then why…"

"He deserves something nice, doesn't he? Maybe his best friend visiting?"

Kurama smiled. "You see more than he gives you credit for."


	77. The Compromise

The Compromise

Yusuke didn't return to the bedroom until much later that night when Kurama was already asleep. He wasn't surprised when he woke up that the redhead was gone. He had made the decision to turn over and go back to sleep when Kurama came in the room.

"Why are you still sleeping, love?" he asked.

"Because it's early, and I'm pissed off?" Yusuke muttered in reply.

"Ah. Well, if you get less pissed off, I am going to Ningenkai for the day. You could come with me if you'd like."

"But Koenma said…"

"I know what he said. But after you stormed out he said we might need Kuwabara on this one. So I'm going to get him and perhaps visit my mother in the process."

"So…we still get to go?"

Kurama huffed a little at having to repeat himself. "Yes, love. For the day."

"But what about this douche who wants to challenge me?" Yusuke asked.

"Koenma is going to remain here. He's going to keep an eye on things while we're gone. Also Hiei is coming."

"Shit. You guys were busy while I was out yesterday."

"We were," Kurama agreed. "You'll want to get ready if you're coming. We only have until midnight in Ningenkai, and it's already seven."

Yusuke didn't have to be told twice. He whooped and hopped out of bed, stopping to kiss Kurama on his way to the bathroom.

The redhead smiled, and then stiffened. "Yusuke," he called. "I'll be in the entry way when you're ready."

Yusuke mumbled something back, and Kurama strode out of the room.


	78. The Inevitable

The Inevitable

Hiei walked into the fortress that served as the home of the king with a sigh. He had gotten accustomed to being out in the wilds with Hotaru, though he understood why he was needed here. Koenma was barely more than useless, so someone had to be here to defend Yusuke's kingdom should anything go awry in the king's absence.

He started to send a mental message to Kurama, but then he felt the fox headed his way. Good. He hadn't bought Kurama's evasion days earlier. He knew there was something the devious fox was hiding from him.

"Hiei, thank you for coming." Speak..well, think of the devil.

"I could see the necessity in it."

Kurama nodded. He bit his lip. "Hiei…there's something…"

Red eyes narrowed. "You're nervous. Why are you nervous? You're never nervous."

Deciding against trying to explain, Kurama just lifted his hair away from his neck, exposing the mating mark.

The two demons stood in the entry way of the fortress in silence. "Yusuke?" Hiei asked finally.

"Of course."

"Hn. Okay."

Kurama blinked. "Okay? That's what you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I…thought…"

"You thought I'd be pissed," Hiei finished.

"Well. Yes."

Hiei snorted. "I think you two are fucking idiots for needing to be mated, but you love each other." He shrugged. "It's none of my business."

Kurama frowned. "Alright, who are you and what have you done with Hiei?"

"I know this will come as a shock to you, fox, but I do have things to do other than be upset about you and Yusuke."

"Really."

"Yes. There's a thing called moving on. I suggest you look into it for the sake of your intended." With that, Hiei smirked and walked away, leaving a confused Kurama behind him.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Ha! I love this chapter. Hiei gets to have the last word. Don't be taken in by his flippancy though.


	79. The Going

The Going

Yusuke leaned in to Kurama as Koenma prepared the portal. "Why does Hiei look so smug?" he whispered.

Kurama rolled his eyes. "He has momentarily gained the upper hand."

Yusuke gave his lover an incredulous look.

"_Momentarily,_" Kurama emphasized.

"I take it he knows then?" Yusuke continued.

Hiei snorted. "Yes, I know. I can also hear everything you're saying, idiot." He trained his eyes on the king. "And let me tell you something else. You will do right by Kurama. You will never give him any reason to be unhappy with you. Got it?"

"Or what, I'll have to answer to you?"

Hiei shot him a glare that answered the question.

"Oh calm down, fire brat. I'm not gonna hurt Kurama. I love him too much for that. We've had this conversation before anyway."

"I'm just making sure it resonated with you."

Koenma cleared his throat. "I hate to break up this touching moment, but we _are _on a schedule here."

"Yeah, yeah. We got it, pacifier breath," Yusuke replied.

"Good. Now, I'll be setting up the return portal near Kurama's mother's house, so make that your last stop."

Kurama brightened. "Lovely. We can have dinner with her then."

"Just be ready to go at a quarter till midnight," Koenma advised.

"We got it, Koenma!" Yusuke said again. He was anxious to get going and all this talking was wasting time. He hadn't realized how much he missed Kuwabara, and his mother, and Keiko, and just being in the human world until the possibility of returning presented itself.

Koenma ignored the outburst. "Hiei and I will work on trying to figure out who the spy is here and who they are working for."

"They're working for this bastard that wants to challenge me, right?"

"Yes, but we need to find out who the mastermind behind all this is. They may be uncouth, but not all demons are stupid. They know what you are capable of. Someone is probably pulling the strings of this whole operation from a safe distance. Okay, everything is ready."

Yusuke took Kurama's hand, and they stepped forward into the portal.


	80. The Appearance

The Appearance

Kazuma Kuwabara had lived the last few of months of his life in relative normalcy. Sure the love of his life wasn't human, and he and his sister had an otherworldly awareness, but compared to how he'd been living before, this was positively mundane.

Now he was heading home from a full day of classes, whistling as he walked. Yukina was at his house, visiting with his sister, and he was looking forward to spending the weekend with her.

He was just passing an alley way when his senses starting going crazy. Kuwabara frowned. He hadn't felt any power like this since Urameshi had gone to the Makai to be its king. Whatever this was, it was big.

The redheaded human was debating going to take a closer look or going on about his business, when it was decided for him.

A rift opened up in the middle of the alley, shimmering and setting Kuwabara's senses a tingle with the feeling of spirit energy. A few seconds later, Kurama stepped out of the rift, looking as collected as ever. Yusuke followed him out and Kuwabara's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

For one thing, his demonic best friend had let his hair go full on rocker again and it fell to his waist, held back by a blue headband. For another thing, he was holding hands with the redheaded fox.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kuwabara demanded.

Yusuke and Kurama whipped their heads around and grinned in unison. "Well that was easy," the former murmured.

"Indeed. Koenma does good work."

Yusuke walked up to his friend and punched him in the shoulder. "I'm back from the Makai, and this is the welcome I get?"

"Uh…hey. Hey, Urameshi," Kuwabara replied. "Hey, Kurama. It's uh…good to see you guys."

"Apparently it's not," Yusuke groused.

"Nah, it is. I'm just surprised. Didn't expect to see you for another couple years at least. Plus you look all different."

"Yeah…Kurama insisted on the hair."

"You folded rather easily, if I recall correctly. And I do," Kurama responded.

"So you two…?"

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah. For a while now. We're kinda engaged."

"Kinda?"

"The demon way is different."

"Oh. Right. Well, congratulations then. Um…Urameshi, not that I'm not glad to see ya, but what are you doing here?"

"Well, actually we might need your help," Yusuke said, scratching his head. "But can we pretend like it's a social visit?"

Kurama shot Yusuke a look. "Yeah, yeah I know. Time limit. Can we at least go some where else and talk about this?"

"Yeah. Wanna go to my place?" Kuwabara offered. "I still live with my dad and Shizuru to make things cheaper with school and all…"

"Sounds great. Let's go."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Hey look! It's Kuwabara!

2. I really enjoy reading your reactions to my chapters and seeing what you think is going to happen next. Some of you are spot on, others make me giggle.

3. I think the vast majority of you want something to happen between Hiei and Hotaru, so you'll be pleased with next weeks chapters.

See you on Monday!


	81. The Pitch

The Pitch

"See here's the thing," Yusuke said as he sat on the couch at the Kuwabara's house. "I'm the rightful king and all that jazz because I won the tournament, but when I marked Kurama, someone got pissed and wants to challenge me for the throne."

"What's wrong with havin' Kurama as a mate?" Kuwabara wanted to know.

Kurama chuckled. "I'm a demon traitor, remember. Marking me as his intended made Yusuke seem weak."

"Only I don't care what those fuckers think. So I'm going to put down this moron and keep Kurama," Yusuke finished.

"So why d'you need me?" The human wanted to know.

Yusuke looked at Kurama because he still wasn't clear on that himself. "Well," the fox replied. "Koenma is of the opinion that there is something bigger at work here. Mainly that Yusuke's challenger is working for someone else."

"Oh. So you might need help getting to the bottom of it and kicking everyone's asses. I shoulda known you'd need my help eventually, Urameshi," Kuwabara said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. I just need you and Kurama and Hiei to keep the other idiots busy while I take out this challenger and probably the top dude too."

Kuwabara furrowed his brow, thinking. "I'd have to try and take some time off school," he said. "Spring break is comin up, but I still got a week to go until then." Both the human and the half demon turned to look at Kurama expectantly.

"Let me get Hiei to ask Koenma what the time frame is looking like. You might be able to stay here for another week before joining us. If not, I'll handle your school," Kurama said.

The front door opened then, admitting Shizuru and Yukina who had gone out to get some groceries for dinner.

Kuwabara was on his feet with a cry of "YUKINA!" running to give the apparition a hug. Shizuru shook her head then frowned.

"I know that's not Yusuke Urameshi I feel in the living room," she remarked. "And my favorite redhead. Certainly not."

Kurama smiled. "Hello, Shizuru. It's good to see you."

"Hey," Yusuke greeted.

Shizuru put her hands on her hips. "What are you dragging my baby brother into now, Yusuke?" she demanded. "He's got school to think of, you know."

"Believe me we know," Yusuke responded. "He'll be back soon."

"He'd better." Shizuru eyed him a moment longer, then turned back to the door where Kuwabara was talking Yukina's ear off. "Kazuma," she snapped. "Go put the groceries in the kitchen and let the poor girl greet our friends."

"Oh, right. Okay, sis."

Shizuru shook her head. "It's nice to know things haven't changed too much, isn't it?" she asked Yusuke.

The king smiled. "Yeah. It is."

* * *

A few notes:

1. And here's your holiday update. Shizuru? My favorite of all the Yu Yu girls. She's badass.

2. Kurama must be extremely good at pulling strings at schools since he was absent for long periods of time and never got kicked out. He also managed to stay at the top of his class. Clever fox.

3. This week's chapters are some of my favorite. I hope you enjoy them too!

Happy 4th! See you tomorrow.


	82. The Introduction

The Introduction

To say that Kurama's mother was happy to see her son would have been an understatement. There were no hysterics, as Shiori was not that kind of woman, but she'd given the redhead the longest hug Yusuke had ever seen.

His consort had melted into his mother's arms, breathing her scent in deeply. "I missed you, Mother," he murmured.

"Oh, I missed you too, Shuichi," the woman replied. "How long are you here for?"

"Just for the afternoon, I'm afraid. I have to be back on a plane out of here tonight."

Shiori sighed, releasing her son. "Well, I'm glad you're here now," she said firmly.

Kurama smiled sadly. "As am I. Mother, you remember Yusuke, don't you?" he asked, waving the half demon forward.

"My goodness," the woman said. "Of course I do. Though he had less hair the last time I saw him. Is he traveling with you?"

"He is. Actually, there is something that we need to talk to you about," Kurama said. "Perhaps we should sit down."

"Shuichi, is everything alright?" Shiori asked, concerned.

"More than alright. Well, I hope so. Mother, Yusuke and I are…" the fox couldn't say it. Luckily Yusuke wasn't shy.

He grabbed Kurama's hand tightly. "Mrs. Hatanaka, what Shuichi here is trying to say is that we're dating. Actually, I've asked him to marry me, or whatever the equivalent of that is for us."

Kurama couldn't help but chuckle at that, even as he waited for his mother's judgment.

"Really, Shuichi?" she asked. "That's…I'm so happy for you!"

The redhead was back in his mother's arms before he could say anything. "I was so worried…" she whispered. "I was worried that you weren't going to find anyone who was worthy of you. I didn't want you to be alone."

Kurama blinked. "I won't be, Mother. Yusuke takes very good care of me." He smirked at his lover over the human woman's shoulder.

"This calls for a celebratory dinner. You do have time for dinner?" Shiori wanted to know.

"Certainly," Kurama replied.

"Good." She made shooing motions with her hands. "Go visit with your other friends for a while, I'll call your cell phone when dinner is ready."

Kurama kissed his mother's cheek and reclaimed Yusuke's hand. "See you soon, Mother." When they were out of earshot of the house, he turned to the half demon. "Thank you, Yusuke. I didn't know how to say it to her."

Yusuke shrugged. "It's no biggie. I'm just glad she's cool with it."

"My mother is an astounding woman."

"Definitely. Where to now?"

"Keiko's?" Kurama suggested.

Yusuke swallowed hard.


	83. The Prior

The Prior

Keiko stopped dead when she entered her parents' ramen shop. Sitting at the table slurping out of a bowl like he had never left, was none other than Yusuke Urameshi.

Next to him, wearing that same look of amusement that he had always worn was Kurama.

"What-" Keiko whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Yusuke whipped his head around and stared at the girl - no that was wrong, she was a woman now - in the doorway. "Keiko."

"You…you can't be here."

"And why can't I?" Yusuke demanded.

"It doesn't make any sense! The one day I decide to come home for a visit, you're just here? It's improbable."

"But not impossible," Kurama couldn't help adding.

"And you!" Keiko said, rounding on the fox. "You've been with him?"

"Yes. In more ways that one."

Yusuke shot his consort a look.

Keiko dropped her bag and slid down to the floor. "This isn't happening," she muttered to herself.

"Oh come on, Keiko," Yusuke said, getting to his feet. "You knew I would be back eventually."

"Yeah, in three years!" she retorted. "By then I could have been married and away from here. I wouldn't have had to see you."

"Is that what you really want?" Yusuke asked. "To never see me again? Because I can go. I can go and never come back here if that's what you really want."

"Because you care so much about what I want." Keiko sighed. "Why _are_ you here?"

"We came to get Kuwabara for some demon stuff," Yusuke admitted. "I…didn't want to leave without seeing you."

The young woman huffed. "And you and Kurama? You're together now?"

Yusuke nodded. "Demon version of engaged."

"Wow. I never took you for one to make that kind of commitment."

The half demon shrugged. "I'm making all kinds of commitments these days." He sat down beside her. "Keiko, I want us to still be friends. You and me…well, you're the first friend I ever had. I'm not turning my back on that."

"That's what it feels like," Keiko told him.

"I know there's a bunch of other shit I gotta do, but I always plan to come back here, Keiko. I can't just up and leave you and Kuwabara and my mom. Plus Kurama's mom is here, so he's gonna want to come visit."

"What's your point, Yusuke?"

"My point is, I promise I'm gonna be around, and I'd like it if you were too. Even if you're married or whatever. Hell, I wanna be at the wedding. C'mon, it's me, Keiko. When do I break promises?"

Keiko smiled. "Fine, you big idiot." She leaned over and hugged him tightly.

* * *

A few notes:

1. No one can stay mad at Yusuke.

2. OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS! I should have mentioned this like two days ago when it happened, but as I write this, I have 516 reviews! That's like more than the reviews for my other stories combined! Okay, probably not really, but still. I am amazed. I know this is the fanfic that never ended, but thanks so much for sticking with me through it and letting me know what you think about it. Whether you review every chapter or just every now and again, I love you.

See you tomorrow!


	84. The Actuality

The Actuality

Hiei was standing on one of the walls that surrounded the fortress he was staying in. A wind tugged at his hair and cloak and he turned his face to it. His eyes were closed, but that didn't stop him for noticing when a familiar presence passed through the entrance to Yusuke's home.

Without stopping to think, Hiei flickered from the wall and went inside.

He was already in his room when Hotaru came to find him. The blue haired demon leaned against the door frame with a smirk. "So…what happened?" he asked.

Hiei didn't look up. "What do you mean?"

"I could feel you moping from clear across the Makai. What happened?"

"Yusuke marked Kurama," Hiei said finally. "Kurama marked him back."

"Good for them!" Hotaru responded. "They work well together. Are you jealous?"

The jaganshi shot him a withering glare. "I am _over_ Kurama."

"I didn't ask that, did I?" Hotaru retorted. "You can be jealous of their situation and still be over Kurama."

Hiei blinked. "That's stupid. I don't need any flashy displays of affection like a mark."

Hotaru shrugged. "Maybe not, but you probably _could _use some affection. Even if it's affection in private." When his friend didn't reply to that, Hotaru entered the room. He went to sit on the bed next to the shorter demon. "Hiei?" he murmured.

"What?" The fire demon snapped, unnerved at Hotaru's closeness.

"Don't stab me." The blue haired demon leaned down and captured Hiei's lips with his own.

They kissed for nearly a full minute before Hiei grabbed Hotaru's arm, burning it just enough to make him jerk back.

"Ow!" Hotaru complained.

"Oh stop whining. It will heal in a minute."

"Still. What was that for?"

Hiei smirked. "I don't want you getting complacent. You can't just kiss me whenever you want to. Not yet."

"Not yet, huh? So in the future I can do what I want with you?"

Hiei rolled his eyes and didn't reply. Just then Koenma stuck his head in the room, looking back and forth between the two demons. "Um…Hiei, we've got everyone in the fortress assembled in the throne room. Can you come and scan them?"

"I'll be there in a minute."

Koenma nodded, giving them one more curious look as he left.

"What's going on?" Hotaru asked.

The fire demon smiled evilly. "It's time for me to go catch a traitor."

* * *

A few notes:

1. I am apprehensive about this chapter. I don't want people to think that Hotaru is a Larry Stu (or whatever the male version of a Mary Sue is). He is not meant to replace Kurama. No one can do that. His purpose is to be a friend to Hiei (and Hiei is a friend to him as well) that just happened to turn into something more. I hope that comes across.

2. Wow, Hiei. You get a kiss and to catch a bad guy in the same day. You must be in heaven.


	85. The Traitor

The Traitor

_So…what you said earlier. Does that mean that I'll get the chance to kiss you again?_

Hiei huffed. _Not if you don't shut up. I'm trying to work here. _

_Sorry, sorry._

Hotaru withdrew from Hiei's mind and watched him work. The small demon walked up to each member of Yusuke's household and stared them right in the eyes. There was a flare of his power, then he would shake his head and move on to the next one.

He was nearly at the end of the lineup now, walking over to one of the kitchen servants. Hiei remembered her from when he ate breakfast in the dining hall. He looked into her blue eyes and then blinked. There was something there. A web of some sort over the female's mind. Hiei pushed a little harder, and suddenly he knew what was going on.

He stepped back and waved Koenma over. "It's her," he said shortly. "You. What's your name?"

"Ch-chiyuka," she replied nervously. "What do you mean, it's me?"

"There's a traitor in the king's home. Someone is passing information to an outside party. Apparently that's you," Koenma explained.

"Me!" Chiyuka exclaimed. "I'd never!"

"Not intentionally," Hiei corrected. "But you have been passing on information. Someone else was in control of your mind. Whoever it was has been siphoning secrets from you for weeks now it seems."

Hokushin snapped his fingers from his place in the line. "That makes sense. His highness and Lord Kurama talk over meals often. In fact, it was over breakfast that I found out about the marks. Chiyuka was in the perfect position to hear everything."

"I wouldn't say anything though!" the female cried. "I am loyal to the king."

"Unfortunately your mind isn't," Koenma said. "So what do we do now?"

Hiei frowned, thinking. "Give her to me. I want to see if I can recognize the energy that is clouding her mind. If I can't Kurama might be able to."

"You won't hurt her, will you?" Hokushin asked.

"Not if she cooperates," Hiei replied, spearing the servant with a glare.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Hiei's secretly hoping she'll be difficult so he can hurt her. It's been like...forever since Hiei's gotten to hurt someone.

2. I know, I know. This was anti-climactic. But it's building towards something big. I think. This story kind of does what it wants.

3. Next week: Kuwabara! Kurama and Yusuke come back! Kurama finds out that his two oldest friends are...doing whatever they're doing!

See you Monday!


	86. The Return

The Return

Kuwabara and Yusuke stood outside and watched as Kurama gave his mother one last hug. When the redhead joined them, Yusuke wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "We'll be back," he murmured.

Kurama shot his lover a grateful smile. "Well then, shall we go?"

The three of them headed in the direction of the thick patch of woods that lay behind Kurama's mother's house. So much had been accomplished in the span of one day.

Yusuke had seen Keiko and his mother, and Kurama had successfully gotten Kuwabara excused from school until the week after Spring Break.

"It feels weird to be going back there," Kuwabara said suddenly. "I thought I was done with the demon world after you wasted Sensui, Urameshi."

"Yeah, I know. But you can go back to your life once this is all over," Yusuke replied. "I'm hoping Koenma and Hiei have some good news for us."

"I suppose we'll see when we get there," Kurama responded. All three of them felt it the moment the portal activated, and, in unison, they stepped into it.

Koenma was waiting when they came out on the other side. "Oh good," he said. "Everything was successful."

"Hey, Koenma," Kuwabara greeted. "Good to see ya."

"You too, Kuwabara. I'd chat more, but there's something that needs your attention, Yusuke."

"Fucking what now? I've been here for all of two seconds."

"Hiei has found your spy."

"Oh. Well who is it?" Yusuke cracked his knuckles. "I want to take out some of my frustrations on the guy's face."

"You might want to rethink that," Koenma said dryly. "It's one of your kitchen girls. Chiyuka."

"Chiyuka? Get the fuck out of here! She wouldn't do something like that."

"Not on her own," a voice corrected. Hotaru stepped into the hall. "She was being controlled. Hiei's figuring out who is pulling the strings right now. He's asking for your assistance, Kurama."

"Then I had better go. Excuse me." The fox walked off in the direction he felt Hiei's energy coming from.

"Who's this?" Kuwabara asked, eyeing the blue haired demon.

"Kuwabara, this is Hotaru. He works for Yomi and is an old friend of Kurama's from their bandit days. Hotaru, this is my best buddy Kuwabara."

"He's a human?" Hotaru asked.

"And what if I am?"

"Then you must be a strong one," Hotaru replied. "And worthy to be friends with such a great king as Yusuke."

Kuwabara flushed. "Oh…well…"

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "So fill me in, Hotaru. What's Hiei doing to Chiyuka?"

"He's not harming her, if that is your concern."

"Of course it is. This is _Hiei _we're talking about."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Alright! We're going right into the action this week. I think Friday's chapter might be a longer one to avoid drawing things out too much.

2. I'm really glad everyone likes Hotaru so much. He is my favorite OC.

3. Speaking of OCs this week is going to have a lot of them, since we'll be meeting our villains.

See you tomorrow.


	87. The Reveal

The Reveal

Yusuke walked into the room where Hiei and Kurama were speaking with Chiyuka.

"So it could be one of three demons?" Hiei was asking the fox.

"To my knowledge, yes. I have only felt this kind of energy a hand full of times."

"Any luck, guys?" Yusuke wanted to know.

Kurama nodded distractedly. "Yes. Let me ask Hotaru to contact Yomi. He will know if any of our suspects are dead," he said more to Hiei than Yusuke.

"Hn. Very well."

Chiyuka turned tear-filled eyes to her king. "My lord!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at his feet. "I didn't know. I swear I didn't! I would never betray you, my lord. You must believe me!"

"Calm down, Chiyuka," Yusuke soothed, pulling the girl to her feet. "Of course I believe you."

"Good," a voice that was not Chiyuka's came out of her mouth then. It was deeper than hers, but still undoubtedly female. "It is a pleasure to meet you finally, King Yusuke. The former human who has the Makai buzzing."

"Who the hell are you?" Yusuke demanded. "What are you doing to Chiyuka?"

"Nothing damaging, I assure you. I've been using this silly little servant to spy on you for months now. I knew you were going to do something to screw up, so I was just waiting for it."

"And what was that, marking Kurama?"

"Of course. There are demons worthy of your mark, and you give it to some human loving traitor? You are not fit to rule here."

"Tell me who you are," Yusuke demanded.

The female laughed. "Oh you'll know soon enough. Ask the fox. He knows me. Until we meet in person, _my lord_."

Chiyuka fell to the floor and blinked. "What just happened?"

Hiei growled. "How are we supposed to kill her if she's hiding behind innocents?"

"She'll have to stop hiding then won't she?" Yusuke said. "If she wants my throne." They all turned to Kurama who looked stunned. "Hey, you alright?" The king asked. "You knew her?"

The redhead nodded slowly. "I did. She was…"

Hotaru, who had come up behind them at the tail end of the confrontation swallowed hard. "Presea. Kurama's first."

* * *

A few notes:

1. I know that name means nothing to you right now, so this isn't a huge reveal, but sit tight, kay?


	88. The Accomplice

The Accomplice

"Kurama's first _what_?" Yusuke demanded.

"Everything," Kurama answered. "She and I…" he shook his head, gesturing for Hotaru to continue.

"Presea and Kurama were best friends. She was the first female in our little group of bandits before my Leila came along. We all thought that they were going to be mated, but then Kurama and Kuronue got together, and Kurama told Presea that he had never wanted a commitment."

Yusuke took all of that in. "So she's really pissed at Kurama for finally settling down, just not with her?"

"It's probably that and the reason she gave you," Hotaru replied. He turned to Kurama. "I didn't even know she was still around."

"Neither did I," Kurama said weakly. "Once she left the group…I lost track of her. Forgot about her."

"She wasn't good for you, Kurama," Hotaru returned. "She was worse than Yomi with her ambition and she fooled around with others all the time."

"I know. That's why I didn't want to mate with her," the fox explained.

"Is she capable of being in control of the whole thing?" Hiei asked. "Or is someone pulling her strings as well?"

"I'm not sure. If this were a couple thousand years ago, I'd say no. But I don't know how strong she is now. Why didn't I recognize her energy though?" Kurama wondered aloud.

"Maybe she has someone else directly controlling Chiyuka," Hotaru suggested.

"Yes…that would make sense. But how would they have gotten to her?"

Hiei frowned. "Chiyuka," he barked. "Are you confined to the fortress or do you go other places?"

"The only other place I go is to the market, Lord Hiei," the servant girl replied. "There and back once a week."

"A merchant then?" Hotaru asked.

"Possibly." Kurama thought for a moment and then it dawned on him. "I know who this is."

"Who?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Asuna."

Hotaru snapped his fingers. "That's right! I knew that energy felt familiar."

"Who the hell is Asuna?" Yusuke practically shouted. He was getting tired of being in the dark about what was going on.

"He's the merchant that Kurama, Hotaru, and Yomi stole the _Shitagi Dorobou _from," Hiei answered. "They mentioned him at the dinner we had with Yomi."

"Okay, Hiei's freaky good memory aside, why would he be involved?"

Kurama shook his head. "I'm sorry, Yusuke. It would seem that all of this is because of me. These demons are looking to remove you from the throne because they feel _I _have wronged them."

Yusuke snorted. "Well whatever the reason, they ain't getting nothing but a good ass kicking from me, Kurama. We're in this together."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Remember Asuna from like thirty chapter ago? Get ready to meet him soon.

2. Kurama's pissed a lot of demons off in his time. He's not particularly worried about it, but he's not pleased that Yusuke has to get dragged into his baggage.


	89. The Release

The Release

Now that they knew who they were dealing with, things were a lot less tense in the fortress. Hotaru went to go see what Yomi knew of Asuna's whereabouts, and Yusuke went to fill Kuwabara and Koenma in on what was going on, taking Chiyuka with him. It didn't seem like there was anything left for them to do, and it was already nearly four in the morning.

Kurama had assured Yusuke that he would be coming to bed shortly, then turned to face Hiei once the room had cleared. He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "I noticed something during all of this," he remarked.

"That you piss a lot of people off?" Hiei replied flippantly.

"One cannot live as long as I have without making enemies, Hiei. But that is not what I'm talking about."

"Then would you get to the point? I might want to get to bed sometime before sunrise."

"Will Hotaru be in it?"

Hiei froze. "What?"

Kurama smiled sweetly. "Surely you didn't think I'd miss how strongly you two smell of each other. Or how he's been looking at you the whole time we've been back."

"I ignored those looks," Hiei protested, blushing a little.

"True. But usually you would have called someone out for looking at you like that. Inari knows you used to do it to me enough times. So, is something going on with the two of you?"

"What if there is?" Hiei snapped. "_We're_ not together anymore."

"I know that," Kurama replied. "You're still my friend though, Hiei. As is Hotaru. I'm not jealous; I'm just curious."

Hiei rolled his eyes and looked away. "He kissed me."

A grin lit the fox's face. "Did you kiss him back?"

"Does that matter?"

"Of course it matters! Reciprocation is both indicative and important."

"Indicative of what?" Hiei wanted to know.

"Interest of course. And since your face now matches my hair, I am going to assume that you kissed him back _and _that you liked it."

"Shut up."

"You _did_!" Kurama laughed triumphantly. "Congratulations, Hiei. Really. Hotaru is a good person. You two are well suited."

"Why, because he's somewhat like you?"

Kurama shook his head. "No, because he is much more equipped to deal with you than I ever was. Do me a favor and make each other happy, alright?" The fox squeezed Hiei's shoulder and left the room, heading down to the one he shared with Yusuke.

A moment later, Hotaru stuck his head in. "I'm going to be staying here for a while," he said. "I hope that's okay."

Hiei nodded. "It's fine. Come here."

The blue haired demon came closer. He was suddenly yanked forward by his shirt and found himself kissing the fire demon.

Hotaru smirked and returned the kiss. Things were looking up.

* * *

A few notes:

1. So that cat is out of the bag!

2. There is a slight chance that there won't be updates next week. I have to go to a family reunion all this weekend and I might need a break afterwards. Or I might scramble and write five chapters today...We'll see.

See you tomorrow!


	90. The Villains

The Villains

Presea strode into Asuna's manor with a purpose. She flipped her jet black hair over her shoulder and practically kicked open the door to the merchant's office.

Asuna rolled his eyes, but didn't look up from the records he was organizing. "Pleassse. Come in," he said. He didn't look like someone who could take control of someone else's mind, but as always in the Makai, looks could be deciving. He was of average height with pale white skin. Golden hair fell to his shoulders, and his eyes were an acid green and slanted like a reptile's. He had a forked tongue and scales ran up the length of his arms.

His tongue flicked out, tasting the air as he put aside his papers and looked up at his partner. Presea was beautiful, of that there could be no doubt. She had dark brown skin, and her hair fell nearly to her knees in obsidian waves. Her eyes were the color of old blood, and she had a pert little mouth. She stood a little taller than Asuna, and was willowy and graceful.

"Kurama knows I am involved," she said.

Asuna glared. "I thought we were going to remain hidden for now."

"We were," Presea replied. "But then he was right there, and it was so easy for me to take control of that idiot servant and speak to him and the king."

"And what if they figure out who issss helping you, Presssea?"

"How could they trace anything back to you? Kurama has not had contact with you for centuries, and he has no way of knowing that I am involved with you."

"Yessss, but you of all people sssshould know better than to underesssstimate Kurama."

"Oh, stop worrying. They won't do anything until we make another move. _We _are the challengers here, Asuna. All they can do is try to beat us."

"_I _am the challenger," Asuna corrected. "Onccce, I beat that fool for the throne, _I _will be king of the Makai."

"Yes. I know," Presea responded, sounding bored. "Just don't forget our deal."

Asuna waved his hand dismissively. "You get Kurama'ssss head and all of the jewelssss and gold he possessessss. I remember."

"Exactly. First though, I am going to make him watch while you kill his precious King Yusuke. I want to watch him register the agony of having his intended ripped from him before I kill him."


	91. The Assassin

The Assassin

Yusuke spent the better part of the next week in the dojo that was in his fortress. Kuwabara and Hiei would often join him in this training while Kurama met with Yomi and Hotaru and discovered that Asuna still lived in the same manor he had when they had stolen from him all those years ago.

One day after they had ended a three way sparring match, Kuwabara turned to Yusuke. "Damn, Urameshi, you've gotten a hell of a lot stronger since I last saw you fight."

The half demon shrugged. "I think I get stronger the more I come into my demon side. I did win the entire tournament after all."

Hiei frowned. "I don't understand how this idiot thinks he can challenge you."

"Me neither," Yusuke replied.

"He probably plays dirty," Kuwabara offered, wiping sweat from his brow.

"You are right about that," Kurama said as he walked into the dojo. "Hokushin just caught someone outside that looks awfully like an assassin."

A gleam entered Hiei's eyes then. "We should go interrogate him," he suggested.

"You just want to kill him." Kuwabara quipped.

"So? It's been a while since I've gotten to kill anyone."

"We need to talk to him first, Hiei," Yusuke said. "But then I'll turn you loose with him. I'm getting tired of this shit."

The king led his friends up to the throne room where Hokushin and a few other monk-like demons were standing over what appeared to be a purple imp. The would-be assassin saw Yusuke enter and made a growling noise in his throat.

"I advise you not to move, worm," Hokushin said.

"Yeah," Yusuke added. "Now who the hell sent you here?"

"I'd rather die than tell you!" the imp shouted.

"You're going to die either way," Kurama replied coolly. "How useful you are will determine the speed of your demise. Hiei here will put you out of your misery rather quickly. He's not one to draw these things out. I, however, quite enjoy the sounds of my victim's suffering."

Real fear entered the imp's eyes then. "I don't know!" it shouted. "I was paid by someone who said he was paid by someone else. I never met the big boss!"

Kurama sighed. "I expected as much. Hiei, I doubt we'll get anything more from him."

The jaganshi smirked and drew his sword.

Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara walked out into the hall. "So it was Asuna and Presea, right?" Yusuke asked.

"It would be too much of a coincidence if there were someone else trying to kill you right now."

"I don't get it. How do they think I'm weak enough to be killed by an imp?"

"Oh I don't think they expected the imp to kill you," Kurama said. "Hiei burned Asuna's influence out of Chiyuka. I think they're just trying to get more of their people in here so they can keep their assumed upper hand." He smirked. "They really must have forgotten who they are dealing with."

* * *

A few notes:

1. Hey look! You get updates this week. My goal is to have this finished in the next three weeks, so I'm not taking any off time. If I'm good, it'll end right at 100 chapters.

2. The fighting starts this week, but let me just say that fight scenes are not something I'm good at, so don't expect to be wowed, okay?


	92. The Encounter

The Encounter

Chiyuka walked along the road, headed to the market where she had most likely fallen under Asuna and Presea's influence. She was nervous, but Yusuke had assured her that it would all be fine. After all, Hiei was shadowing her. That didn't _exactly _lessen her fear, but she figured that she would be safe.

She was perusing vegetables, when she felt a pair of eyes on her. The servant dropped the vegetable she'd been holding when she saw the familiar acid green eyes.

"Hello, pet," Asuna said in his hissy voice.

"You," Chiyuka gasped. "I remember you."

"Of courssssse you do. I am not pleasssed that I can no longer see into your mind, dear. You were foolissssh to come here today, but that only helpsssss my causssse."

The snake demon reached out with his powers and tried to regain his grip on Chiyuka's mind. He frowned and pushed harder when he found that there was some kind of shield that was keeping him out.

Chiyuka had gone back to browsing for food, trying to hide her fear.

"You little bitch," Asuna growled. "Who issss blocking me?" He grabbed her wrist. "Who?"

Hiei flickered into view then. "That would be me," he deadpanned.

"You? You're the forbidden child, aren't you? I'd heard you were alsssso a traitor, but I didn't believe it."

"I owe loyalty to myself and to those who have earned it," Hiei snapped. "Call me what you like."

"And you ssssserve the falsssssse king?"

Hiei snorted. "Is that what you're calling Yusuke? I wasn't aware that there was a legitimacy involved in being king here. The deal was: you win the tournament, you get the throne."

Asuna waved that away. "No one will opposssse me when I am king. The falsssse king has no supportersssss here."

"You'd be surprised, snake," Hiei snapped. "I'd kill you now, but that honor belongs to the rightful king. Instead, I'll give a warning: stay out of this woman's head. She is not yours to control. Also, all you are doing by sending these imps to the fortress is lessening the number of people who will care when you die."

Asuna seethed as Hiei escorted Chiyuka to another stall to buy more food. He contacted Presea.

_The arroganccccce of thessssse foolssss._

_What? You approached them!_

_I wasssss trying to renew control over the ssssservant. Ssssshe had a protector with her._

_Damn! Now they know. We will have to strike soon, Asuna. The more time we wait, the more time Kurama will have to plot against us._

_What do you sssssuggesssst?_

_We strike within the week._

* * *

A few notes:

1. Oh yeah. Shit's going down.

2. Expect some longer chapters towards the end of the week, and next week. This will end on number 100, dammit. It'll be perfect.

3. You have to admire (read: mock) the confidence of these villains, don't you? They're so sure of themselves. All the same, don't underestimate them.


	93. The Ally

The Ally

"Blast from the past, huh?"

Kurama looked up to see Hotaru leaning against to door to his and Yusuke's room. The fox sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Indeed. There are certain parts of my past that I wish would have remained there. Presea and Asuna are two very good examples of that."

Hotaru nodded. "Still…won't it be interesting to see how this all plays out?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's not that I have any lack of faith in the king's skills, but I wonder how he will stand against Asuna. Assuming he is the one who wants to be king."

"Of course he is. He has always wanted more than was given to him."

Hotaru chuckled. "You could say the same thing about us back then."

"Fair enough. Yusuke can defeat him. He fights with honor and courage and for the lives of those he cares for. He will not fight because he wants to keep the throne for himself, but because it is the right thing to do."

"You would have hated him a thousand years ago," the blue haired demon said.

Kurama smiled. "More than likely. Now…I will do anything to remain at his side."

"Even kill Presea?"

"You assume she is after me?"

"I'm sure of it. If she doesn't want the throne for herself, then she wants you. Either to kill you or to force you to mate with her, but that girl's obsession with you runs deep."

Kurama sighed. "You are likely correct. Tell me, Hotaru, when the time comes, will you fight with us?"

"Of course I will," Hotaru replied. "Even if I did not owe allegiance to Yusuke, you are my friend, ."

"And to Hiei?"

Hotaru rolled his eyes. "_That _is none of your business, Kurama."

"So you say, but you should know that Hiei cannot hide anything from me, so I know already."

"Fine, fine. Are you upset?"

"No. I am pleased for the both of you. You both deserve to have each other," Kurama responded. "When my friends and allies are happy, so am I."


	94. The Beginning

The Beginning

Yusuke came to bed that night, wiped out from a hard day of training, but he felt ready. Kurama was already in the bed, reading one of his customary thick books.

"How can you concentrate on a book at a time like this?" the king wanted to know.

Kurama shrugged. "I see no reason to put my life on hold because we are in danger. Again. If I did that, I would never get anywhere."

Yusuke chuckled. "I guess that makes sense. I remember you doing homework at the hotel during the Dark Tournament." He shook his head and frowned. "It's going to happen soon," he said. "I can feel it."

"Feel what?"

"The energy. It's like…I don't know. Like the air is getting more full of energy the closer this fight gets."

Kurama dog eared his page and set the book aside. "I believe that might be your own energy overflowing, Yusuke. You are excited for this."

"Kinda. I guess I just wanna prove myself as a king finally. I feel like I've been doing kind of a crap job until now."

"You haven't. Come here."

The half demon stripped down and climbed into the bed beside his intended. Kurama scooted over and rested his head on Yusuke's chest. "Have I apologized for being the catalyst for this yet?"

"Yeah, and I'm gonna say the same thing I said then. It doesn't matter."

"They _are _right, you know. You can do better than me."

Yusuke snorted. "The hell they are. Who the fuck is better than you?"

"Well…"

Yusuke laughed. "See, you can't even think of anyone." He wrapped an arm tightly around the redhead's shoulders. "I don't like hearing you talk like this. I like the cocky Kurama a lot better."

"I just want to be realistic," the fox said.

"I am being realistic. It doesn't matter why they're challenging me. Just that they are." Yusuke leaned down and kissed Kurama. "So shut up about it, okay?"

"May I say one more thing?"

"Fine."

"It is quite likely that Presea will try to kill or capture me. I am sure this is both for her own reasons and to try to give Asuna an advantage. You must remember that I am capable of handling myself and not let this distract you from your fight. Do you understand?"

Yusuke sighed. "Yeah. Just…promise me something, okay?"

"Anything, Yusuke."

"Don't pull none of that sacrificing yourself for the good of the team crap like you did in the Dark Tournament. It would have hurt like hell to lose you then, but now…well…it doesn't matter if I beat Asuna if I have to lose you to do it. Living without you is not an option. So promise me you'll keep fighting."

"Yusuke…"

"You said anything, Kurama."

"Very well. I promise."

"Oh how sweet is that?" a husky female voice cut in.

Yusuke and Kurama bolted up to see a tall, dark skinned female demon standing on the shoulder of a giant beast and looking in the window at them.

"Presea," Kurama whispered.

"Who else?" the female said with a smile. "So good to see you again, Kurama." She looked him up and down. "All of you."

Kurama didn't even stop to acknowledge his nudity. "Yusuke!" he shouted, "Go! Asuna is likely already here. I will handle her."

The king was pulling his pants on. "Okay. Hiei and Kuwabara?"

"I'll get them moving. Go!"

Yusuke sprinted out of the room as glass shattered. The beast punched through the window, raining glass onto the floor.

_Hiei? _Kurama all but shouted into his friend's mind.

_I know. The plan?_

_You, Kuwabara, and Hotaru handle any of the spare. Yusuke is going after Asuna and Presea is mine. When the minions are dead go to Yusuke, do you understand?_

_Then who is going to help you?_

_This is my fight, Hiei. Please do as I say._

…_fine. But you'd better not die._

Hiei disconnected and Kurama faced his opponent. _Be safe, Yusuke._

* * *

A few notes:

1. I think this is my favorite chapter this week.

2. Despite the fact that she's mad as a hatter and vengeful as fuck, I like Presea. She's got style. You'll see what I mean.

3. I really enjoyed the suggestion I got from a few of you regarding the battle. Consider it done.

4. Also regarding the battle: I mentioned a couple days ago that I am shit at writing out fight scenes. I was going to labor over the ones to come, but then decided to just have fun with them. So they'll be a little...bizarre. Crazy shit will happen. I'm going to try to keep it in the realm of believeability, but this _is_ Yu Yu Hakusho. Still, I welcome all suggestions and constructive criticisms.

See you tomorrow!


	95. The Fight

The Fight

Hiei ran into Kuwabara as he and Hotaru left his room. The redheaded human paused long enough to give his friend a suspicious look, then fell into step with them. "So this is it, huh?"

"Hn. We are to take out any extras that might be in the fortress."

"Why are we always on clean up duty?" Kuwabara groused.

Hotaru chuckled. "Because you're neither the king, nor the guy who pissed off a woman?"

"Huh. Good point."

"Focus, you idiots," Hiei snapped. He whipped out his sword and cut down three imps that descended upon them. "Spread out. Give them no quarter."

The other two hurried to do as they were told. Kuwabara punched a larger imp that was advancing on him, then summoned his sword to take care of another one.

Hotaru, in a display that neither of his companions expected, summoned a staff made of his energy and began to twirl it. "Watch carefully, Hiei," he said in a teasing tone. "I want you to see what I can really do." He smacked one opponent over the head with the staff and whipped it into the stomach of the other.

Hiei snorted. "I am a little busy here, Hotaru."

"If you can't chop through a few of these weaklings _and _pay attention to me, then you're not the demon I thought you were."

"Maybe I'll take _you _down next," the fire demon replied.

"I think you already did that an hour ago, Hiei."

"Can you guys shut the hell up?" Kuwabara shouted. "I'm trying to kick ass here!"

"Maybe you should try harder."

"Hey, fuck you, Hiei! I'm working just as hard as you are, and I ain't flirting while I do it."

Hiei opened his mouth to retort when Hokushin and a group of Yusuke's demons entered the hall. "We'll take it from here, Lord Hiei," Hokushin said. "Go to our king."

* * *

Kurama sized Presea up through the broken glass of the window. "Presea. You're looking well."

"You're looking human," the female replied. "But still as delicious as ever. How _do_ you do it?"

"I'm gifted."

"You may have a moment to dress, if you'd like," Presea said.

Kurama shrugged. "Why bother? The sooner you are dead, the sooner I can move on with my life."

Presea laughed, and Kurama found himself frozen at the sound. It was so familiar. He shook his head firmly. "Are you coming in, or am I going to come out? I can kill your mount first, if you'd like," he said. "In fact…" Kurama reached into his hair for the rose he kept there and transformed it into the whip he was so well known for. With the flick of his wrist, the whip was wrapped around the giant scaly demon's neck. Kurama pulled, and the head was severed.

Presea leaped into the room as her mount fell to the ground with a crash. "You think you're clever, don't you?" she asked with a sneer. "You've always been like that, Kurama. So full of yourself. So assured of your skills."

"I have reason to be, as you well know. But come, let the talking end, and the slaughter begin."

* * *

Yusuke walked into the throne room where he could feel a foreign energy. He saw a scaled demon with lime green eyes sitting on his throne looking satisfied. "So you're Asuna, I'm guessing."

"You guessss correctly, Falsssse King."

"Huh. I've always wanted a nick name. I don't like that one much though." Yusuke cracked his knuckles. "So what, you're just going to sit there? I thought you were challenging me."

Asuna raised his hand and a torrent of imps in different sizes came rushing into the room. "I came prepared," the snake like demon hissed.

Yusuke raised his index finger and took aim. "Spirit Gun," he muttered. With one blinding flash of spirit energy, the imps were blown away. The king yawned. "Is that all you got? Because I can do this all night."

Asuna stood up and narrowed his eyes. "I sssssee. The rumorssss were true then. You are ssssstrong."

"Yeah. I am."

The other demon took a deep breath and then retched.

Yusuke frowned. "Something you ate coming back up?"

Asuna smirked and retched again. This time a torrent of snakes came pouring out of his mouth. They started off small, then grew as they slithered across the floor towards the half demon. "They feed off of ssssspirit energy," Asuna explained. "With that impresssssive blassssst you jussssst let off, the air isssss full of it."

"I guess you're not as dumb as I thought," Yusuke replied. He lunged out of the way as one of the snakes struck at him. "Just out of curiosity, are these things poisonous?"

Asuna grinned, and it was positively evil. "Very," he hissed.

Two of them lunged for him and Yusuke had a second to wish for Kurama's agility. He dodged right and into the side of yet another snake. Before that one could strike, he jumped onto its head driving it into the floor and crushing the skull.

"You cannot run forever," Asuna taunted.

Suddenly one of the snake's heads went flying. Standing in the doorway was Hiei, flicking blood off of his sword. Kuwabara and Hotaru were behind him.

"We've got the snakes, Urameshi," the human shouted. "Take out the ugly one."

"In case you don't know," Yusuke said to Asuna. "That's you." He ran forward and landed a solid punch on his challenger's face.

* * *

A few notes:

1. Whoo! It's off with a bang. I love how Yusuke never shuts up when he fights.

2. Yeah...Asuna can puke snakes. Told you this was going to be weird.

See you on Monday for what will be (I hope) the final week of this story's epic ass run.


	96. The Victory

The Victory

Kurama snapped his whip in Presea's direction. She flipped out of the way and glared at him. "You can't mean that you want to kill me. _Me_?"

"Presea, I stopped caring about you centuries ago," Kurama retorted.

Dark eyes narrowed. "Very well. I _had _hoped that perhaps you would see reason, but I see that you have betrayed your former self completely." She slipped slender fingers into the bodice of the short dress she was wearing and pulled out a necklace with a pendant in the shape of an axe. "Surely you remember this?"

Kurama's face remained impassive, but he felt the flicker of recognition. Presea was gifted with powers to manipulate metals much like he did plants. The pendant was really her weapon.

She closed her hand around the pendant and smirked as it grew warm and expanded. In a matter of seconds she was holding a fully transformed halberd. Presea shifted into a battle stance and cocked an eyebrow at her opponent.

The fox wasted no time. He moved faster than Presea knew he could. She had never seen him fight in his human form. She'd considered the Dark Tournament beneath her notice, and had been otherwise occupied when the Makai Tournament had tolled around. But she was about to get a taste of what the fox in human form could do.

He banished his whip back into it's rose form and plucked a leaf from one of the plants he kept in the bedroom. Using his energy, he turned it into a sword, knowing that would be more suited to Presea's fighting style.

He ran across the room and slashed at the female, not being at all surprised when she blocked him with the handle of her weapon.

Before she had time to react, Kurama struck again, this time managing to slice down the length of the arm she brought up just in time.

Presea spun the halberd over her head quickly, creating a wall of wind that kept Kurama out and hid her from view. The fox used that to his advantage. He sent a pulse of energy down to his bare feet and into the solid wood of the floor. Perhaps he'd be able to keep his promise to Yusuke after all.

Unfortunately, Presea's wall not only hid him from her view, but it also obscured Presea's movements from Kurama. As such, he was not prepared when the blade of the halberd came slicing down at him.

Kurama jumped out of the way in the nick of time before the more…delicate parts of his anatomy were damaged.

Presea took advantage of her upper hand. She slashed and chopped at Kurama, hoping to back him into a corner.

Luckily, Kurama was acrobatic as all hell, so he was able to avoid the majority of the blows.

One did catch him across the stomach, and the fox spared second to roll his eyes. _Every single time. _He managed to get behind Presea with his leaf sword and pressed it to her throat. "And so here we end," he said softly.

The female stilled. "Kurama," she whispered. "Please. Not like this. If I am to die, I want to die facing you. You owe me that at least."

Kurama hesitated, and that was all the opening Presea needed. She spun around and brought her knee up and into Kurama's crotch.

The fox swore and sank to his knees.

"Arrogant fool," Presea spat. "I can't believe you fell for that." She reached down and grabbed a handful of all that red hair. "Now I'm going to drag you down to the throne room and make you watch while Asuna kills your beloved Yusuke. Then you're going to tell me where your dens are, then you're going to-URK!"

Kurama smirked. While she had been talking, he had been working. He had slammed both of his hands into the wooden floor, pouring energy into it, activating the seeds he had slipped in the cracks in floor.

Razor sharp blades of grass shot out of the ground where Presea was standing and impaled her where she stood.

Her eyes were wide as she watched Kurama get to his feet gingerly. Her blood was pouring out of her, rolling down the greenery to the ruined floor. "Fuck…you, Ku…ra…" She died before she finish.

"You wish," the redhead murmured. He grimaced, casting around the damaged room for pants as the pain in his groin lessened. He had successfully found the pair he'd been wearing earlier when he felt a huge burst of energy envelop the fortress and heard an anguished cry.

Kurama's head shot up. _Yusuke._

* * *

A few notes:

1. I didn't see any reason to draw this out. Presea's cockiness and snobbery is her own worse enemy. Yep, iwasnthere622, Presea fights with a type of axe. I couldn't resist.

2. This story will officially end on Friday, but I plan to post one shots every once in a while in the King and Consort universe.

See you tomorrow!


	97. The Challenger

The Challenger

Yusuke rammed his fist into Asuna's stomach as he tried to pull the snake puking trick again. "I don't think so!" he shouted.

Asuna grabbed the king's arm and flung him into the far wall, using strength that shocked everyone in the room. He took advantage of the reprieve to gather his power around him. Most of his snakes were dead already, but there were still three slithering under the bodies of their fallen brothers. He called those to him.

The first one wrapped itself around his legs before being joined by the other two. The was a flash of green light, and then Asuna reared up in front of them. His lower half had been transformed so now he was half snake from the waist down.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kuwabara muttered.

"Huh. I'd forgotten he could do that," Hotaru said.

Yusuke got to his feet. "Well I can't say I'm surprised, what with you issue with the letter s." He sized his opponent up, trying to think of a way that he could deal with him. This would be the perfect time to fight with a sword or some other pointy weapon.

"We gotta do something before Urameshi gets himself killed."

"We cannot," Hiei replied.

Kuwabara rounded on him. "What do you mean?"

"This is a fight for the throne."

"So?"

"So," Hotaru answered gently, "Yusuke has to kill him on his own if he wants to keep the throne. It's the only way. We've done all that we can do here."

"Dammit."

"Basically."

"Should someone go check on Kurama then?" The human wanted to know.

"He said for us to stay here," Hiei responded. "His fight is rather personal."

Kuwabara folded his arms and frowned. "Coulda stayed home and gone to school and been this much help," he muttered.

Yusuke was racking his brain. There had to be something he could do. Asuna was currently trying to crush him with is large tail by slamming it into the ground. The half demon couldn't stay in one place for too long for fear of being smashed.

Yusuke fired off a couple of shot gun blasts charged with demon energy this time incase Asuna fed off of spirit energy like his puke snakes. He was glad for the hundredth time that he had learned how to switch back forth between the two powers. Still, the blasts just bounced off of the thick scaled skin that covered every part of the demon's body now.

_Every part of him is guarded_, Yusuke thought to himself._ All except for that mouth of his and that's just as dangerous. Wait..._

His mouth! Yusuke had a plan.

He stopped running and faced the large snake. "You know, smashing me isn't the best idea. I'm pretty hard to kill when I'm still in one piece."

Asuna laughed. "Then I will chomp you into many," he hissed. In a matter of seconds that thick tail was wrapped around Yusuke's waist and he was being lifted into the air.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted. "The fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Shut up, Kuwabara! I've got this!"

"I am impressssssed by your ssssurender," Asuna said. "You are wissssse to know when to give up."

Yusuke ground his teeth together as Asuna squeezed him tightly. He could feel his ribs protesting._ That's right, you bastard. Just a little closer._

Asuna lifted Yusuke closer to his mouth and then flipped his upside down. "I sssshall leave your head sssssso that the people will have proof of your demisssse."

_Yeah, yeah._ The king thought. _Closer, closer, closer._ _Now!_ He pointed his finger toward the giant snake's opening mouth. _This had better work._ He channeled all the demon energy he had left into one blast. "Die, you scaly bastard!" he shouted and fired.

Hiei, Kuwabara, and Hotaru shielded their eyes from the red light of demonic energy that engulfed the room. They could hear Asuna's screams as he was disintegrated by the blast, but the a wail from Yusuke split the air.

Once it had all cleared, there was a crash as Yusuke fell to the ground. There was no sign of Asuna. Well…except for the fang that was buried in Yusuke's side.

His friends rushed forward. "Are you alright, Yusuke?" Hotaru asked.

"Heh. Yeah." Yusuke winced. "I got him."

"It looks as if he also got you," Hiei remarked.

The still reigning king opened his mouth to reply, but choked as his eyes glazed over.

* * *

A few notes:

1. When in doubt, blast them to hell.

2. It was brought to my attention that as of the Makai Tournament, Yusuke finds it easier to fire demon energy when he's in the Makai. *facepalm* I had completely forgotten that and had him fire a Spirit Gun in chapter 95. So...let's just assume that in the years before he became king, Genkai showed him how to switch back and forth at will, mmkay?

3. And voila! Yusuke is hurt! Kurama's reaction to follow.

See you tomorrow!


	98. The Anguish

The Anguish

"What's happening to him?" Kuwabara demanded.

Hiei sighed. "He's been poisoned. Looks like Asuna got a good bite in before he died."

"So what do we do?" Hotaru asked.

"I don't know."

"What?"

"I. Don't. Know," Hiei repeated.

"Well we can't just leave him like this."

"_Move._"

No one had felt Kurama enter the room, and Kuwabara jumped when he spoke. "Kurama! You're alright."

"Yes. Now move."

The three of them hurried to get out of the way so that Kurama could kneel at Yusuke's side. He placed a cool hand on Yusuke's forehead and swore when he felt how hot it was. He was definitely poisoned. _The question is, can I cure him?_

"Kurama?" Hotaru asked softly. "What should we do?"

"Hiei, take Hotaru and go into Yusuke's and my room. Get the cloth bag in the back of the wardrobe, but don't touch anything else. Kuwabara, go find Hokushin. Let him know what's going on and then head to the kitchen. Make some cool compresses and bring them to me."

"Where will you be?"

"In one of the bedrooms."

"Why not yours?"

Kurama didn't answer. He just slipped his arms under Yusuke's prone form and lifted him up.

The anguish in his expressive green eyes had the others scrambling to do as he had instructed.

The fox carried Yusuke to one of the bedrooms that was empty and laid him on the bed. He bit his lip and studied the fang protruding from his side, wondering if it would make things worse to remove it.

He sorted through his knowledge of poisons and determined that there was nothing else to do but pull it out incase it was dumping more poison into Yusuke. Kurama vaporized it with a pulse of his energy and then had another idea.

Slender fingers sorted through red hair until Kurama found the seed he was looking for. He spared a moment to be thankful that he had retained enough energy for this, and then brought the flower to life. It formed a bell shaped blossom that opened and closed as if it were sucking. Kurama had intended to use this for something else, but he figured it would do in this case.

He ripped long strips from the bed linens and wrapped them around Yusuke's torso above the wound. Then he directed to flower to latch onto the bite, hoping it would suck out some of the venom.

Moments later, Hotaru and Hiei returned with the bag and wide eyes. Kurama took it from them and began rifling through it. "I take it you saw Presea," he remarked offhandedly.

"She deserved it," Hotaru assured him.

"Yes."

The fox pulled out several oils and herbs meant to purge the body of toxins and began to mix them together.

"Will that help?" Hiei asked, his eyes on Yusuke.

"I can only hope. I don't know what kind of venom Asuna has, so I'm just going to purge all the toxins out of Yusuke's blood stream. It's all I can think to do."

Kuwabara returned then with the compresses, and Kurama laid one on Yusuke's forehead. He shooed the others out of the room and then sat down on the bed with a sigh. "Please let this work." He opened Yusuke's mouth and tipped the herbal mixture fortified with his power down the half demon's throat.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I did some research on how to cure snake venom, but I'm going to be making up a fair bit of this. Please suspend your disbelief.

2. Get ready for some Kurama emoooooooootions!

See you tomorrow!


	99. The Intended

The Intended

Kuwabara stuck his head into the room where Yusuke was lying and noted that nothing had changed. Kurama had said that it would take time for the herbs to work if they were going to, but it had already been close to three hours.

The sun had risen, blanketing the fortress in light that was in direct opposition to the way the inhabitants felt.

Hiei looked up as Kuwabara rejoined them in the hall. The human shook his head, and the fire demon sighed. Hotaru pulled his closer to him where they sat on the floor.

"Kurama's will be crushed if he dies," Hiei murmured.

"We all will," Kuwabara corrected. But Hiei was right. Kurama had gotten on the bed with Yusuke, his lithe body curled around the king's good side.

"He'll be okay," Hotaru said for what had to be the hundredth time in the last couple of hours. "It'll be okay."

* * *

Kurama traced Yusuke's lips with a finger as tears fell from his eyes and soaked into his hair. "Yusuke, you idiot," he whispered. "Don't you know that this means nothing without you? We won, but if you die it means nothing. I cannot lose you. I love you." He leaned up and pressed his lips against Yusuke's. "Wake up," He pleaded. "You fight everything else in your life. Fight this! If you give up now, I will never forgive you."

He closed his eyes when there was no reaction, wondering if he was going to have to accept defeat for one of the first times in his life.

Suddenly Yusuke's frame shook. Kurama jumped back as the mazoku's back arched and a groan fell from his lips. The tremors got more violent, Yusuke's body barely staying on the bed. Then, as soon as it had begun, they stopped.

The fox frowned and stepped closer to the bed. He peered down at Yusuke and laid a hand on his forehead. The fever had broken which was a good sign, but he wasn't sure what had just happened.

Then Yusuke groaned again. "Kurama?" he asked. Green eyes widened as brown ones blinked open. "Why do I feel like I just got hit by a truck?"

"Yusuke." Kurama flung himself down on the bed in a most unlike him manner and kissed the king soundly. "You will never do anything like that to me again, do you understand?"

Yusuke chuckled weakly. "Can you explain what it is I did?"

"You were poisoned. Asuna bit you before he died," Kurama told him. "I…I didn't know if you were going to make it. I don't how you did."

"Neither do I, but all my energy is gone."

"Of course it is," Kurama replied, banishing the plant that was still attached to Yusuke's side. "You poured it all into killing Asuna."

Yusuke shook his head, then winced as his body protested. "Just my demon energy. I was still pretty high on spirit energy, but it's out now."

Kurama frowned then his eyes lit in understanding. "Of course. Your spirit energy combined with the herb mixture and burned out the venom in your system."

"Oh. That would explain it." There was a moment of silence as Kurama cuddled closer into the mazoku's side. "Hey," Yusuke said after a while. "You won your fight."

"I did. Relatively easily. Although…we might want to consider relocated our bedroom."

"There's a man eating plant in there, isn't there?"

Kurama smiled. "No. Just extremely sharp grass. And a body."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Shoulda known."

"I should go tell the others that you're alright," the redhead remarked, moving to get up.

The king pulled him back down. "Do it telepathically. I want you to stay right here."

"Very well." _Hiei? He's awake._

_He's okay then?_

_Perfectly._

_Can we come in?_

_Yes._

The door flung open then and Kuwabara stormed in. "You've got a lot of nerve putting us through that, Urameshi."

"Sorry, man. I'll try to be more considerate of your feelings the next time I decide to get poisoned by a sadistic snake."

"Good."

"We're glad you're okay, Yusuke," Hotaru said.

"Hn," chimed in Hiei.

"If you guys don't mind, I'm fucking exhausted." A yawn illustrated this.

"Sleep," Kurama said. "We will get started on the clean up, and then I'll bring you something to eat."

"Thanks. I love you."

Kurama kissed him before getting off of the bed. "I love you, too." He moved towards the door.

"Hey, Kurama?" Yusuke called softly.

"Hm?"

"Let's get mated or whatever soon, okay?"

Kurama blinked, startled. "Yes, of course. Whenever you'd like."

"Great." The king smiled and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

A few notes:

1. I wouldn't kill Yusuke. He still has to make an honest (*snort* yeah right) fox out of Kurama. Plus, I looooooove him.

2. Oh my god, you guys! There's only one chapter left... T_T


	100. The End

The End

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged amused looks as they sat at the table in the dining room of the fortress. Hiei and Hotaru were fighting over something insignificant as they ate dinner.

They were celebrating the second anniversary of Yusuke's coronation and the fact that he only had one more year to go.

"I swear those two bicker more than _you_ and Hiei used to," the king commented. He was looking well. Tan and bright eyed. He had cut his hair again but forgone slicking it back with gel. Kurama had to admit that either look suited his mate.

The two of them had been mated a couple of months after the fight for the throne in Yusuke's first year of reigning. Since Yusuke was the king, they had had a very public ceremony in the Makai, binding themselves together in front of the kingdom. Then they had gone to Ningenkai and had a simple ceremony there as well for their human friends and family.

Hiei had gone back to working for Mukuro while Hotaru went back to Yomi's services. The nature of their jobs placed them together often, so they were still…doing whatever it was they were doing.

Kurama shook his head at them and leaned into Yusuke's side. "I don't think Hiei can express affection any other way.

Chiyuka came out of the kitchen to clear the plates and smiled at her king. "Dessert, my lord?"

"Hell yeah! Yomi sent some cake looking thing that I can't wait to eat."

"I'll bring it out then."

Hiei finally turned to the royal couple. "When are you planning to go to Ningenkai next?" he asked.

"My mother's birthday is in two weeks, so not before then," Kurama answered. "You want to come?"

"Yeah. I was going to…introduce Hotaru to Yukina."

Kurama blinked in surprise while Yusuke cackled. "You can't tell her you're her brother, but you can bring your boyfriend to meet her? I don't get you."

"Neither do I," Hotaru admitted. "I don't think we're meant to."

Chiyuka brought out the giant dessert then, and the conversation was forgotten.

* * *

Later that night, Yusuke and Kurama were lying in bed, sweaty and tangled together. "I was thinking that maybe in a year we could find a smaller place to live," Yusuke remarked.

"This place is yours, Yusuke," Kurama said. "We don't have to move."

"I know, but I thought it would be nice to live somewhere more like a house, you know? Like just the two of us."

Kurama smiled. "Ah. That does sound nice."

"Maybe somewhere close to the border so we can come and go as we please."

"I'd like that."

Yusuke yawned. "I'll ask Mukuro what's down there. Maybe we can have something built."

The two cuddled together as sleep descended upon them. "Y'know," Yusuke murmured. "I don't think I could be happier."

"What if tomorrow wasn't an audience day?" the fox asked with a smirk. "Would you be happier then?"

The king groaned. "Just go to sleep, Kurama."

"Yes, my king."

* * *

A few (final) notes:

1. As I said before, I am not done with this universe I have created. There will be oneshots and perhaps even a sequel one day!

2. Some of the first one shots I plan to write are Hiei/Hotaru lemons and Yusuke and Kurama's mating. So look out for that.

3. Seriously. To everyone who has read/reviewed one or all 100 of these chapters, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This was an experiment that was hatched when I was sitting in a boring class looking for something to write. I never expected it to turn into this mega epic chapter fest. I owe all of it to you. To those of you who have reviewed nearly every chapter, you blow my mind. To those of you who have offered your compliments, suggestions, criticisms, thank you. You all are one of the reasons that this story kept going. Thank you, thank you, thank you.


End file.
